JAMES COUNTY, Virginia – Authorities are warning the public that two convicted criminals have escaped from a psychiatric hospital in Virginia on Easter.
Officials at the East State Hospital in James City County called on soldiers to warn them that two patients had fled the facility, according to a sergeant. Michelle Anaya of Virginia Police.
Virginia State Police
Austin Preston Lee and Bryant Marcus Wilkerson
Austin Preston Lee, 31, and Bryant Marcus Wilkerson, 29, have been convicted of outstanding warrants, according to Anaya.
Lee has unfulfilled drug orders from Chesapeake and one for escape from a psychiatric facility issued by the Department of Behavioral Health and Development.
Wilkerson is wanted for probation and has also been ordered to flee a psychiatric facility.
Both are considered armed and dangerous, according to Anaya.
The Eastern State Hospital, located about 45 minutes southeast of Richmond, is the first psychiatric hospital in the country and dates back to 1773. It is one of the five public psychiatric hospitals in the British Commonwealth.
Last month, a man escaped from Dinuidi County Central Hospital for the second time in less than three years. Central State, opened in 1870, was the first psychiatric institution in the United States for African Americans. This hospital was integrated in 1968 and now houses the state’s only mental health unit, according to the Virginia Behavioral Health and Development Services website.
If you have seen Lee or Wilkerson or have information about their whereabouts, call Virginia State Police at 757-424-6800, # 77 on your cell phone, or email soldiers at questions@vsp.virginia.gov.
This is an evolving story, so anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send advice.
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