MARION, N.C. (WBTV) – A convicted felon will spend the next 30 years at least in prison after he walked away from a prison work release site, kidnapped a woman, and forced her to drive him to another county, court officials said.
Billy Lee Smith, while on work release from the Rutherford Correctional Facility as a low-level offender, escaped from a worksite at Marion Correctional Institution on Feb. 7, 2024.
From there, deputies said he forced himself into a home in Marion, kidnapped a woman in the home, and forced her to drive him more than 30 miles away to Asheville. There, she was released, and he ran into the woods…