QUITMAN, Texas — A fugitive jail inmate was captured Friday, eight hours after he overpowered and disarmed a jailer who was taking him to a hospital.
Authorities arrested Joseph Leslie Meadows in a wooded area near Quitman after a resident reported seeing someone matching his description in her driveway.
They said the 26-year-old inmate, who was being held on burglary and forgery charges in the Hopkins County Jail in Sulphur Springs, apparently faked an illness and was being taken to a hospital when he disarmed his escort, put him out on the roadside and drove away.
No injuries were reported.