Police arrested a Texas inmate-turned-fugitive armed with a knife Friday morning after he escaped following a court appearance in Houston.
Joshua Nigel Thomas Sanders, 35, escaped about 3:30 p.m. Thursday before holding a district attorney employee against her will and trying to take her car, authorities said.
The Harris County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on X that Sanders, 35, was captured at a property in Houston by the Violent Criminal Fugitive Task Force.
Sanders resisted arrest and was electrocuted. He is currently being treated at a local hospital for the “use of force incident” during his arrest, said Saul Suarez, major in the Harris County Sheriff’s Office criminal investigations department, during a news conference Friday. .
Once he is deemed OK by doctors, he will be returned to the Harris County Jail.
Since his re-arrest, Sanders has been charged with aggravated robbery, attempted carjacking and escape from custody.
Police also arrested two other unidentified suspects on charges of hindering apprehension. Both are in police custody and were described by Suarez as “criminal associates” of the Sanders.
Suarez said, “At approximately 3 a.m. this morning, our search ended when we finally located the suspect in the 1400 block of Force Street. [in Houston].”
He also thanked the public for the large number of tips deputies received following the news of Sanders’ escape.
Deputy Chief Phillip Bosquez said at a news conference Thursday that Sanders managed to escape upon returning from court.
“He approached a woman during that escape, as soon as he got out on the street, and jumped into her car. She destroyed that car just a few meters away,” he said.
Sanders got out of the disabled car and ran down the street, and that was the last time he was seen on camera, Bosquez said.
The woman held at knifepoint was later released unharmed, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office said.
“Of course she was shaken, but she was not injured,” Bosquez said. The woman was leaving work in the building when the incident occurred.
Sanders, described as transient, was in custody on three counts of robbery and one count of illegal possession of a weapon by a felon, Bosquez said.
“We really believe we’re going to take it down,” he said. The sheriff’s office asked for the public’s help in the search for him.
Investigators believe Sanders had a knife during his escape, but Bosquez did not specify where it came from. “Anywhere once he got out of prison,” he said.
An investigation into how the escape occurred is ongoing.
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
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