By Sharon Myers
The Dispatch
Lexington, N.C. — A Lexington man already charged with multiple violent home invasions was charged with conspiring with other inmates to assault a guard with a weapon and escape from jail.
Alan Shane Hess, 33, of Lexington, was charged with two counts of felony conspiracy, felony possession of a weapon by a prisoner, and misdemeanor injury to real property.
During a cell search of the Davidson County Detention Center on April 14, officers recovered a weapon fashioned out of a piece of a metal stool that had been sharpened, according to law enforcement.
After further investigation, it was determined Hess had conspired with other inmates to use the weapon to attack a detention officer and escape from the jail. He received the additional charges on May 7 and was given a $200,000 secured bond.
Hess is incarcerated for charges in several violent home invasions and robberies in multiple counties, including one on Glenwood Drive in Lexington on Jan. 11. During this incident, the homeowners were restrained with zip ties and held at gunpoint while the suspects took money and jewelry.
Hess was charged with felony conspiracy to commit armed robbery with Alexander Ballew, 27, of Guilford County, and Dwon Nicholas Still, 31, of High Point. The three men are facing similar charges in Mocksville and Rowan counties for other home invasions.
A 93-year-old Rowan County man also reported in January that he was attacked by two men when he went to let his dog out at around 11:45 p.m. According to the victim, the suspects hit him in the head, knocked him to the floor, and kicked him. The man had wounds on his head and was missing several teeth but did not sustain any life-threatening injuries, according to Rowan County law enforcement.
On the evening of Aug. 24, parents of Mocksville Mayor Will Marklin reported to police that two men forced their way into their South Main Street home after saying they were from EnergyUnited. The victims were bound with zip ties, and Johnny Marklin was assaulted while the suspects ransacked the house, according to Mocksville law enforcement.
Due to the similarities in the incidents, law enforcement in Davidson, Davie, and Rowan counties charged Hess, Still, and Ballew with various charges including felony first-degree burglary, felony robbery with a deadly weapon, felony first-degree kidnapping, felony second-degree kidnapping, felony assault with a deadly weapon in the intent to kill inflicting serious injury and felony larceny.
Hess was also charged with a felony fugitive warrant for failure to appear for charges out of Union County, Georgia. He was arrested in Rowan County in 2017 on a fugitive warrant from Georgia for alleged cruelty to children, false imprisonment, burglary, and aggravated assault.
No other inmates have been charged with the attempted plot to assault the officer and escape at this point.
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