DETROIT, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- A convicted carjacker who escaped from a Detroit courthouse Monday after stabbing a deputy was captured 14 hours later near Interstate 94, police said.
Abraham Pearson, 25, broke free as his shackles were being removed before his sentencing, the Detroit Free Press reported. Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon said Pearson, who was convicted last month of carjacking, armed robbery and weapons charges, faces 11 new counts.
Pearson, who is listed in court records as Derreck White, used a comb sharpened into a shank to stab Sheriff's Deputy Harrison Tolliver in the neck. He then secured Tolliver with three sets of handcuffs, put on part of the deputy's uniform and walked out of the courthouse.
Police said he carjacked a minivan but then crashed it. Officers spent hours searching abandoned houses and checking out tips until one that a man was walking along the I-94 service road in the Mount Elliott neighborhood led to the arrest about 10 p.m.
Napoleon said Pearson's escape will be investigated.
"There could have been several instances down the line where people may not have done what they have been trained to do. Unfortunately in law enforcement, we find that monotony sets in, people become complacent," Pearson said. "And those are the times when people tend to get hurt."
