On Christmas Eve, Houston law enforcement reeled in a fugitive whose escapades had previously led him through the doors of a hospital to an unpredictable junction at a hotel near the Gulf Freeway. James Willis III found his flight from justice cut short as deputies from Constable Mark Herman’s Special Operations Unit and officers from the U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force descended upon the Courtyard Marriott, where he was believed to be holed up, according to a report by Click2Houston.
In what can be described as a succinct end to a harrowing manhunt, Willis' bid for freedom was thwarted outside his hotel room when R.E. Moore, a Precinct 4 canine, swiftly clamped down on the situation. The aftermath of which saw Willis booked into the Harris County Jail on a dozen felony warrants, split evenly between Harris and Dallas counties. "He was taken into custody and booked into the Harris County Jail for six county felony warrants and six out-of-county felony warrants from Dallas County," stated Constable Mark Herman as obtained by Click2Houston.
The saga of Willis's run from the law had gripped local attention since his daring escape from custody at Northwest Houston Hospital. After being transported for treatment, Willis managed a Houdini act by commandeering a vehicle from an unsuspecting citizen. Armed only with the suggestion of a weapon, Willis convinced his impromptu chauffeur to drive him to an area a stone's throw away from the medical facility, as reported by KHOU.
Before the dogged pursuit came to a head, Constable Herman laid out the harrowing context of Mr. Willis's previous getaway: "He was scared, he was you know, threatened. And he did what he needed to do to get through that situation. The suspect just needed transportation out of there and so he got him away about 5 or 6 blocks," he told KHOU before the capture. The litany of charges against James Lee Willis, now appended with escape, illuminate the gravity of his alleged offenses, which include assault and aggravated kidnapping.
