After Melvin Barkley, 36, failed to report back to the transitional facility he's been living in on Feb. 2, a national manhunt was launched for the career criminal.
The convicted killer who vanished while out on a work release program in Atlanta last Friday has been caught in North Carolina, officials tell Inside Edition Digital.
After Melvin Barkley, 36, failed to report back to the transitional facility he's been living in on Feb. 2, a national manhunt was launched for the career criminal. He was "apprehended without incident by the Carolina Regional Task Force" at about 2:50 p.m. on Wednesday in Franklin, North Carolina, and "has been transported to the Macon County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina pending extradition," the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) tells Inside Edition Digital.
Transitional center residents are employed in outside jobs in the community but are at the center when not working.
Barkley is currently serving a 30-year sentence for a slew of crimes, including voluntary manslaughter. Barkley was sentenced without parole in November 2023 after he pleaded guilty to killing Tyler Waters in May 2018. He had previously been convicted of theft by deception and theft by receiving stolen property, charges that would allow him be assigned to the Atlanta Transitional Center, officials said.
But once he was convicted of voluntary manslaughter, he "should have been removed from the (transitional center) and transported back to state prison," a GDC spokesperson tells Inside Edition Digital.
"The GDC is conducting a review to determine if any internal or external breakdowns occurred as it relates to protocols and policy. Should any failures be identified, we will ensure any individual(s) involved will be held accountable," the spokesperson says.
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