Hania Aguilar’s killer used homemade key in escape attempts before and after sentencing: RCSO

LUMBERTON, NC (WPDE) — A man sentenced to life in prison Friday for the killing of 13-year-old Lumberton girl Hania Aguilar tried to flee before and after the hearing, according to Robeson County Sheriff Burnis Wilkins.

Wilkins said Michael McLellan used a homemade handcuff wrench to remove the cuffs while being taken to Central Prison in Raleigh after being sentenced Friday morning.

He added that McLellan was able to get his arms through a Plexiglas gap between the front and back seats to get the deputy’s gun.

Wilkins said the deputy then hit the brakes, causing another deputy in a car behind him to hit his vehicle.

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He added that both officers began to struggle with McLellan over the gun.

Throughout, Wilkins said, McLellan kept telling the officer “You’re going to love this.”

He added that a detention officer who was also in the car used pepper spray on McLellan, and that’s when he dropped the deputy’s gun.

Wilkins said McLellan tried to escape Friday morning on his way to the court hearing by using a homemade key to remove his leg braces.

He said his transport officer, who was driving the car, noticed a lot of movement in the back seat and pulled over to see what was going on.

That’s when he noticed McLellan trying to flee.

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Wilkins said they removed the key and were able to get McLellan back into the leg restraints to take him to the hearing.

He said the hearing started earlier than scheduled because of the security concerns with McLellan.

In each case, Wilkins said his deputies noticed unusual movement in the back seat of the car and that alerted them to the situation.

“They did their job as they are trained to do. Spotted a problem. Pulled over and found the problem,” Wilkins said.

He said they have alerted the Central Jail in Raleigh that McLellan removed two homemade keys from him that they believe he brought from the jail.

Wilkins said more information about McLellan’s escape attempt will be released later Friday afternoon.