Rape suspect who escaped from Arkansas State Hospital captured in Memphis

James Barrett
James Barrett

Authorities say they have captured an accused rapist who escaped Saturday from the Arkansas State Hospital in Little Rock.

James Barrett was apprehended at approximately 3 p.m. Monday in the parking lot of a Motel 6 at 1003 Union Ave. in Memphis, Tenn., U.S. Marshals Service spokesman Kevin Sanders said.

The Eastern Arkansas Fugitive Task Force of the U.S. Marshals Service was asked to assist in locating the 34-year-old after he escaped shortly before 6:30 p.m. Saturday from the hospital just east of War Memorial Stadium.

Barrett had been held there since October while awaiting trial for a rape charge in Faulkner County.

Authorities believe the patient used a chair to climb over a fence during fresh-air time, said Amy Webb, chief communications and community engagement officer for the Arkansas Department of Human Services.

The Marshals Service tracked him from Little Rock to downtown Memphis and found him in a vehicle with an unidentified female, Sanders said.

Barrett will be extradited to Faulkner County, where he will be charged with third-degree escape, said Perry L. Wyse, chief of the Arkansas State Hospital Police Department.

Records show he will also face a failure to appear charge in Faulkner County, where he was due in court Monday for a hearing on the rape charge.

An investigation is ongoing.

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