HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — The inmate who led authorities on a two-and-a-half-month manhunt after escaping from a Henrico County hospital was sentenced Wednesday to three more years in prison.
Naseem Roulack, already serving a 13-year sentence for aggravated malicious wounding and other charges, pleaded guilty to one charge related to his August 2023 escape from St. Mary’s Hospital.
During a 20-minute hearing in Henrico Circuit Court, prosecutors detailed the events surrounding Roulack’s escape. According to their account, Roulack was transported to the hospital from prison after reporting seizure-like symptoms. Surveillance footage from the early morning hours of Aug. 12 reportedly shows Roulack breaking free from modified handcuffs while two prison guards watching him fell asleep. He then fled the hospital.
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Henrico County Commonwealth's Attorney Shannon Taylor explained that Roulack remained under the custody of the Department of Corrections while at the hospital.
“When he was in the St. Mary’s Hospital being treated, he was still under custody as a Department of Corrections inmate,” Taylor said.
The guards, who prosecutors said were working extended shifts averaging 13 to 17 hours, were 11 hours into their shift when Roulack escaped. Taylor said the incident highlights systemic challenges in the corrections system.
“Unfortunately, under circumstances, [the guards] did not perform the way that they had wished to perform,” Taylor said. “But it also highlighted some of the constraints that we’re dealing with in our Department of Corrections facilities, and what we’re asking of employees.”
Prosecutors said Roulack was next seen on a home security camera about a half-mile away in Richmond, where he was carrying a backpack. They said he broke into a home, stole clothes and money, and disappeared for more than two months.
During his time on the run, Roulack, who goes by the stage name “Lil Naz,” released a music video in which he boasted about his escape. He was also named as a suspect in a carjacking in Montgomery County, Maryland, in October 2023.
Later that month, a fugitive task force arrested Roulack in Fairfax County, where he was reportedly in possession of an assault rifle. Taylor commended the collaboration among law enforcement agencies in capturing Roulack.
“When you have numerous law enforcement agencies working together … we can find the bad guy,” Taylor said.
While Wednesday’s sentencing closes the Henrico County case, Roulack still faces several charges in connection with his escape, including breaking and entering in Richmond, a firearm-related charge in Fairfax County, and the carjacking charge in Maryland.
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