A Tennessee jail escapee on the run since late July was captured after he crawled through a 16-inch hole in the back office of a Chattanooga auto shop and was spotted.
Arthur Milks, 38, was arrested in Chattanooga on Thursday night. He led police on a chase from Tennessee to Alabama to Georgia after he escaped from Henderson County Jail in West Tennessee on July 25.
Police say Milks, who has been convicted several times for breaking into convenience stores and stealing cars over the past two decades, had a pattern of hiding out in the day and sneaking into places at night.
"He is an unusual inmate," said Tennessee Department of Correction spokeswoman Dorinda Carter. "Having escaped before and knowing it would extend his time further, you do wonder what he was thinking."
After Milks broke into Chattanooga's Morgan Motor Co. around 11 p.m. Thursday, he crept along the floor and disabled the alarm, an employee said.
A towing company owner saw Milks on the floor through a window and called 911, said the auto shop's office manager Vickie Crittenden.
When police arrested Milks, he refused to give his name and was booked under the name John Doe, Carter said. He was identified once his fingerprints were scanned.
Since 1990, he has been convicted on 31 charges including burglary, vandalism and auto theft in Florida and Tennessee and has escaped prison before, police said.
Milks now faces escape from prison charges and more burglary charges in Alabama, Georgia and Chattanooga, Carter said.
While serving his 22-year prison sentence in Tennessee for possession of prohibited weapons, burglary, theft and vandalism, Milks was taken to Henderson County Jail for a July 25 court hearing when he made his escape, apparently climbing barefoot over the jail's razor-wire.
Police say he traveled from West Tennessee to Moulton, Ala., to Plainville in Gordon County, Ga., stealing vehicles along the way.
Milks was held in Hamilton County Jail until he was taken to Morgan County Correctional Complex in Wartburg, Tenn., Friday afternoon, Carter said.
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