Inmate back in custody after escaping from a southeast Arkansas jail twice within hours

LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — An inmate from a southeast Arkansas jail is back in custody Monday after overpowering a jailer and escaping from the same facility twice within hours over the weekend.

According to the Desha County Sheriff's Office, Marceese Watkins was arrested for escape a second time after being located in Dermott - a town about 10 miles south of the McGehee City Jail where he escaped.

Watkins, 31, was taken taken into custody by State Trooper Ty Grant after a vehicle and foot pursuit, the sheriff's office said on Facebook.

Watkins and another inmate, 30-year-old Dwight Overbea, escaped from the McGehee jail Friday night around 10:20 p.m., McGehee police said.

Shortly after their escape Friday, police said Watkins was arrested at a home in McGehee and returned to the jail where he escaped for a second time Saturday morning.

"Watkins managed to overpower a jailer and take her keys, exit the facility, and steal her car," police said in a news release.

He had been let out of his holding cell around 11 a.m. to use the bathroom, the sheriff's office said.

While searching for Watkins, authorities located Overbea who was hiding at a home in McGehee, police said. Authorities said he was transported directly to the Ouachita Correctional Facility in Malvern.

The sheriff's office said Watkins' second recapture was a joint effort between the McGehee Police Department, Chicot County Sheriff's Office, Dermott Police Department, and the Arkansas State Police.

"A big thank you to the Desha County Sheriff's Office, the Arkansas State Police, and the Dermott Police Department for their assistance in apprehending this individual," McGehee police said on Facebook.