A Pulaski County jail inmate, recently charged with shooting his girlfriend, briefly escaped authorities outside the county courthouse Monday, triggering a manhunt in downtown Little Rock for the 41-year-old parolee, who is also under federal investigation.
Joel Sanchez Delgado was due in court for a routine appearance on a series of drug trafficking charges. The sheriff's office reported that Delgado, who has done prison time in Florida for domestic violence, was being taken into the courthouse in a wheelchair about 9 a.m. when he got up and ran.
His escape resulted in a lockdown of the eSTEM's downtown campus, which is a couple of blocks from the courthouse. About 11:30 a.m., sheriff's deputies reported that Delgado was back in custody, captured in the 4500 block of 65th Street, about 7 miles away, and charged with felony escape.
Delgado has been in jail since his Feb. 16 arrest at the Magnuson Inn, 2401 W. 65th St., in Little Rock where he, a woman and two other men were charged with felony residential burglary.
According to an arrest report, a hotel worker, 34-year-old Samad Pervez, complained that some people had taken over a vacant room without paying. Police arrested the four at gunpoint after Delgado reached for a firearm. Investigators collected three pistols, one of them broken, in the room.
The other suspects charged with Delgado are Fabiana Garcia, 21; Jesus Alberto Hurtado, 37; and Carlos Ramirez Mendez, 25, all of Little Rock.
Last week, North Little Rock police charged Delgado with first-degree domestic battery over allegations he shot his girlfriend, 31-year-old Teresa Ann "Peaches" Howard, who has addresses in Little Rock and Tennessee.
According to an arrest affidavit by Detective Ashley Noel, Howard had been shot at least three times in the abdomen when she was taken to Baptist Hospital in North Little Rock by an unidentified man who fled when sheriff's deputies tried to question him about the injuries.
The gunshots went through Howard's small intestine and seriously damaged her stomach. She spent at least a month in the hospital and endured three surgeries, the affidavit states.
Howard initially gave authorities fake names for the man and herself but then told investigators who she and the man really were, saying Delgado had shot her in the parking lot of a McDonald's at 2400 Arkansas 161 in North Little Rock after an argument.
Howard told police the couple had quarreled because she was "tired of driving him around," and that when they got to the McDonald's, she punched him twice in the face and got out of the car. They continued arguing through the car window as Delgado remained in the vehicle, shooting her from inside the car, the affidavit states.
She told investigators she had to persuade Delgado to take her to the hospital because he was worried about her "telling" on him.
Delgado, also known as Yoel Sanchez Delgado, already faces a misdemeanor domestic violence assault charge after Howard reported he hit her with a liquor bottle.
The charge stems from a July 14 arrest at the Regal Inn, 2508 Arkansas 161, in North Little Rock by police called to investigate a disturbance involving a man with a gun. According to a police report, officers were directed to a room occupied by Delgado and Howard, where they found her in tears.
Delgado told officers his name was Joey Maximus, although investigators figured out his true name. Howard told police the couple had argued after Delgado had confronted another man about dating her, describing Delgado as a very jealous person. She said Delgado threw a liquor bottle at her and hit her in the right knee.
During the investigation, police found methamphetamine in Delgado's backpack and he was charged with felony drug trafficking offenses, the report states.
At the time, Delgado already faced a methamphetamine possession charge stemming from a Dec. 9, 2020, arrest at Walmart at 4450 E. McCain Blvd. According to an arrest report, the drugs were found after store security stopped Delgado in the shoplifting of $33 worth of merchandise. Records show federal authorities are reviewing the charges against him for possible indictment.
Delgado also faces a charge of theft by receiving over a March 15, 2019, encounter with North Little Rock police who saw him driving a stolen 2018 Chevrolet Equinox on Franklin Street.
According to an arrest report, after daring police to shoot him, Delgado ran from the vehicle and escaped, leaving behind a BB gun and a bag containing shotgun shells, duck calls, parole paperwork with Delgado's name and clothes. He was not arrested in that case until June 16, 2020.
In June 2019, Delgado was sentenced to four years in prison with another three years suspended after pleading guilty to theft by receiving. Records show Delgado was approved for parole in October 2019.
The charge stemmed from his March 17, 2019, arrest in North Little Rock while driving a stolen red Chevrolet Camaro that was one of two cars that had been stolen earlier in the day from Zoom/Latinos Auto, 5415 Baseline Road, in Little Rock.
According to the arrest report, someone had forced the gate open to steal the Camaro and a blue 2009 Chevrolet Avalanche, along with 100 keys to other cars on the lot. Delgado told investigators he'd gotten the car in North Little Rock from a guy named Christopher, who uses the nickname New York.
In June 2014, Delgado accepted a five-year prison sentence for theft by receiving, theft and forgery involving separate occurrences of possession of stolen vehicles and checks.