Armed Texas Inmate Who Escaped Courthouse Captured After Manhunt

The Texas inmate who escaped from a Houston courthouse last Thursday after holding a court staffer at knifepoint was captured in the early hours of Friday after a brief manhunt.

According to a social media post from the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, Joshua Nigel Sanders, 35, was back in custody by 3:00 a.m. on Friday, June 14 after being captured in eastern Harris County by the Violent Offenders Fugitive Task Force.

Harris County Sheriff’s Major Saul Suarez told reporters in a press conference last Friday morning that deputies were forced to use stun guns to subdue Sanders after he resisted arrest. The inmate was then taken to a hospital to be checked out before being transferred to the Harris County Jail.

Maj. Suarez said two suspected “criminal associates” of Sanders were also taken into custody for attempting to hinder his arrest.

Following last Thursday’s press conference announcing Sanders’ escape, the sheriff’s office received a lot of tips from the public that ultimately helped track Sanders down, Maj. Suarez said.

Sanders, who was being held in Harris County Jail on three charges of burglary and a charge of unlawful weapons possession by a felon, was in the Houston courthouse for a hearing last Thursday afternoon when he held a staffer at knifepoint before fleeing the building.

According to Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg, the staffer was held “against her will” but was “not physically harmed” during the incident.

After escaping the courthouse, Sanders allegedly accosted a driver and forced his way into her car. However, the driver crashed the vehicle just moments later and surveillance footage captured Sanders fleeing the scene on foot. The woman was not injured in the crash and no other injuries were reported.

In the massive manhunt that followed Sanders’ escape, marine units were deployed to search the bayou. The public was warned that Sanders, who has no fixed residence, was believed to be armed with a knife.