Inmate who walked off work detail found in Arizona
Published 5:33 pm Friday, November 9, 2007
An inmate at large for 13 days after walking off of a work detail in Gulfport has been found in Arizona.
James Roy Thomas, 29, was taken into custody Wednesday by federal agents in Phoenix. Thomas was found after sheriff’s investigators and the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force got information that his girlfriend helped him escape, said Harrison County Sheriff’s Capt. Ron Pullen.
Thomas and Ashley Rose Granillo, 19, of El Paso, were being held in Phoenix pending extradition.
Thomas was convicted of a burglary in Harrison County. He now faces a felony escape charge. Granillo will be charged with aiding and abetting Thomas. Both charges are punishable by up to five years in prison.
Thomas disappeared Oct. 25 while working on a city beautification project. Phoenix police arrested Granillo on Sunday. During Granillo’s arraignment Wednesday, police learned Thomas was nearby. Marshals arrested him across the street, Pullen said.