SAMPSON COUNTY, N.C. -- The Sampson Correctional Institute sent it’s highest profile prisoner back into the public.
Former Carolina Panther Rae Carruth made a quick exit into a white Tahoe, speeding off into a life of newfound freedom just after 8 a.m. Monday morning.
Seen wearing a leather jacket & durag instead of a jumpsuit, Rae Carruth trotted out of the correctional facility in Clinton, North Carolina after serving an 18-year sentence.
Rubber burned up the road as the SUV sped off, carting the former football player to an undisclosed location.
It's a much different screech than the incriminating evidence heard during the trial, which included a 911 call from the victim, Carruth's pregnant girlfriend Cherica Adams.
“I've been shot,” she told Medic during the 911 call.
Prosecutors alleged Carruth masterminded the killing to avoid paying child support. The defense maintained it was a drug deal gone wrong.
Carruth was convicted.
Nearly twenty years later, the shooting is still considered the Queen City's most notorious crime.
Carruth spent nearly 19 years behind bars, cutting hair after receiving his barber's license which is a stark contrast from the celebrity status he achieved while playing for the Carolina Panthers.
Panthers Head Coach Ron Rivera was asked about Carruth during his Monday press conference but declined to comment out of respect to the family.
That family centers around Chancellor Adams, the son of Cherica Adams.
Chancellor has cerebral palsy and special needs due to the complications from his premature birth. His grandmother, Saundra Adams, has raised him.
NBC Charlotte spoke to Carruth's mother, Theodry Carruth before Rae's release, she said she plans to see her son Monday at undisclosed location.
