LITTLE ROCK — A skinny Miller County inmate who calls himself "Fast Black" was back behind bars Thursday after 12 days on the lam.
The escape was Demarcus Lamar Cooks' third from the troubled Texarkana lockup. He was arrested at a Texarkana home late Wednesday.
Cooks escaped Nov. 28, jailers said, after he climbed through a hole in the ceiling above a shower, made his way to the front of the building and walked out the door.
The 39-year-old was expected to be placed in the jail's most-secure cell after Texarkana police return him to the Miller County jail.
"He's got a special place," said Don Thornell, a Miller County investigator acting as sheriff until January.
The cell is in the infirmary, where he will be watched by two guards at most times, Thornell said.
Cooks' latest jailbreak marked the 13th at the Miller County jail this year.
In April, Cooks - who is 5 feet 5 inches tall and 150 pounds - broke out a second-floor window with two other inmates, climbed through the narrow space and fled the fenced property. He was later caught in Arizona.
Cooks first escaped from the jail in 2006 when he left through a door that guards left unlocked when the jail's air conditioners were not working properly, according to the Texarkana Gazette.
Former Sheriff Linda Rambo was widely criticized for this year's jailbreaks and lost her bid for re-election. She resigned before the end of her term after prosecutors threatened to bring criminal charges against her over accusations she allowed a jailer to use a county truck.
Sheriff-elect Ron Stovall will take office in January. But troubles at the Miller County jail have persisted since Rambo'sresignation.
Two former guards face sexual assault charges over accusations they had sex with two female inmates, though it was unclear when the purported sex occurred, investigator Jesse Grigsby said Thursday.
Another guard was fired and charged with a misdemeanor after authorities said he stopped to see a prostitute in June while transporting an inmate. Grigsby said the events were still under investigation.
Cooks, who is awaiting trial on commercial burglary and theft charges, also faces felony escape charges. A Texarkana police spokesman said he is a suspect in several burglaries in Texarkana and more charges are pending.
He was on lockdown for much of his time at the county jail. A guard allowed him to shower alone the day of his most recent escape.
The guard was reprimanded for leaving Cooks unattended, and the ceiling he escaped through was repaired immediately, Thornell said
Arkansas, Pages 14 on 12/12/2008