By Cleve R. Wootson Jr.
The Charlotte Observer
POLKTON — Police say the killing of Lanesboro Correctional Institution Officer Bias Easley earlier this month was not connected to his job or tied to a show of force by state and federal authorities at the prison on Wednesday.
Federal and state officials converged on Lanesboro, which has struggled with contraband smuggling, allegations of official misconduct and violence – including a Nov. 15 assault on a corrections officer, who was attacked with an improvised weapon.
But the June 5 killing of Easley, 27 and a father of two small children, was apparently related to an argument in Charlotte.
“Investigators have preliminarily determined that Bias Easley’s murder stemmed from an ongoing dispute between Mr. Easley and one of the suspects,” said Charlotte-Mecklenburg police spokesman Rob Tufano. “Neither the CMPD or our federal partners have identified any information and or evidence to link Mr. Easley’s murder to the prison during the course of this active investigation.”
Easley’s body was found in the walkway of the High Meadow Condominiums on Farmhurst Drive, near where Nations Ford Road meets Interstate 77.
Police said Wednesday that they have obtained murder warrants for the arrest of Raphael White, 30, and Trevor White, 28, in connection with Easley’s killing.
The two men were still at large late Wednesday.
Both are convicted felons. Raphael White served time in Brown Creek Correctional Facility, which is adjacent to Lanesboro. Records show Raphael White left Brown Creek before Easley started working at Lanesboro.
Easley’s father, Joe Easley, said his family and police are “just trying to get to the bottom of this.”
“I don’t have a lot of questions with answers,” he said.
Investigators ask anyone with information on the whereabouts of Raphael White or Trevor White to contact the CMPD’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Team at 704-336-VCAT (8227) or call 911. Staff writer Hannah Jeffrey contributed.