Man who escaped custody during undercover operation arrested months later

UNION COUNTY, N.C. — A man who escaped Monroe Police Department custody on May 31 was arrested after a months-long manhunt, authorities said Thursday.

Police said 41-year-old Cleveland Waters is accused of shooting someone and then escaping police custody during an undercover operation that followed.

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After responding to the initial shooting, police identified Waters as the suspect and tracked him to a Waxhaw home.

When police apprehended Waters, they found guns and drugs inside the home. He told police he knew about a “large quantity of illegal narcotics” that they could seize, so police brought him onboard for an “undercover operation.”

They put Waters, who was handcuffed, in an unmarked car and took him to the area of Carroll Street and Rolling Hills Drive. Then, as the officer tried to drive away, Waters tried to escape from the car.

The officer got out and tried to stop Waters but the unmarked car hit an empty parked car. Waters managed to run away and has been on the run since that night.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office said Waters was taken into custody in the town of Laurinburg on Thursday with help from several agencies, including the U.S. Marshals Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force.

He’s being held in the Union County jail. His conditions of release have not been set.

(WATCH BELOW: Police search for attempted murder suspect who escaped custody in Monroe)

Police search for attempted murder suspect who escaped custody in Monroe

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