In the upper-left of the image: Kelvin Simmons from the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office. In the upper-right: Francisco Flattes from the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office. The background shows the medical clinic from which Simmons reportedly fled (courtesy of WLS/YouTube).
A North Carolina prisoner, accused of seizing a jail officer’s weapon and fatally shooting him in a failed escape, might face the death penalty.
Kelvin Simmons, 48, is charged with first-degree murder in the killing of 56-year-old Francisco Flattes. Court documents indicate that this is now deemed a capital case, potentially subjecting Simmons to the death penalty. North Carolina, however, hasn’t executed anyone since 2006, as noted by the state Department of Adult Correction.
Simmons is also facing federal charges. On October 7, a federal indictment was issued against him for first-degree murder, attempted carjacking resulting in death, escape, carjacking, and other offenses.
As reported by Law&Crime, the suspect was detained on bank robbery allegations as of June 30, when Cherokee County Detention Officers Francisco Flattes and George Fienauer escorted him to an orthopedic clinic for unspecified medical care.
During the clinic visit, Simmons reportedly “overpowered” the officers, took Flattes’ weapon, and fatally shot him, according to Cherokee County Sheriff Dustin Smith in a statement made the following day.
A 911 call at the time of the “violent altercation” shed light on what transpired. An unidentified caller at the medical facility told the 911 operator in a roughly six-minute call that a patient had a gun, per Asheville-based ABC affiliate WLOS.
“He’s shooting off in the lobby?” the operator asked, to which the caller replied in the affirmative.
“He’s got a hostage!” the caller added a short time after, reportedly identifying Simmons as the patient wearing a gray jumpsuit.
When Simmons allegedly escaped from the building, the caller said he appeared to be approaching a vehicle.
“He’s robbing her!” the caller exclaimed. “He’s getting in a Chevy — a black Chevy car.”
The defendant proceeded to lead deputies and the North Carolina Highway Patrol on a long chase east through Clay County into Macon County, where he was eventually stopped after about an hour, according to law enforcement.
Fienauer, the other officer with Flattes, reportedly sustained injuries in the violence, but not gunshot wounds.
Before that fateful June day, Simmons was awaiting trial for a “previous escape attempt in October 2024,” the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office said on July 1, suggesting further charges were coming. Now, Simmons faces a new situation.
There are fewer than a dozen circumstances under which someone in North Carolina may be sentenced to death. One of them is when a capital felony was committed against a law enforcement officer engaged in their official duties.
However, because Simmons was a federal inmate at the time of Flattes’ death, the federal charges take precedence over the state ones, an attorney with the North Carolina Office of the Capital Defender — which is representing the defendant — told The Citizen Times.
There is language in the federal indictment that opens the door to the death penalty being considered, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office told the outlet, which reported that no determination has yet been made.
Simmons is expected in federal court in the Western District of North Carolina in Asheville on Oct. 20. He has a state disposition hearing scheduled for Dec. 8.
Flattes’ wife also worked for the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office as of July 1. With his death, he left behind her, his children, and many grandchildren, authorities said. He is remembered by the sheriff’s office “for his honorable and dedicated service to Cherokee County.”
