Authorities: Inmate in custody after escaping courthouse

PAULS VALLEY, Okla. – Authorities say an inmate who overpowered a deputy and escaped from a courthouse in southern Oklahoma is back in custody after five days of freedom.

Garvin County officials say 32-year-old Jason Glen Willis was recaptured Friday.

Authorities say Willis escaped on April 29. Sheriff Larry Rhodes says Willis was being escorted by a jailer to get ice from an ice machine when he fled. Willis was a jail worker and was being escorted through the courthouse while preparing for meal service.

Rhodes says that when the jailer unlocked a door to return to the jail area from the courthouse, Willis assaulted him and ran, escaping through an emergency exit.

Rhodes says Willis was tracked to a residence in Wynnewood, about 9 miles (14 kilometres) from the jail.