Escaped inmate from Tenn. captured in Royal Oak

ROYAL OAK, Mich. (WJBK) - A federal inmate who escaped from a jail in Tennessee has been captured in Royal Oak.

The U.S. Marshals Service says 37-year-old Timothy England was arrested on Friday after being on the run for a week.  

"I have no doubt this individual was in the area looking to commit another crime," said Chief Corrigan O'Donohue of the Royal Oak police.

Officials say England escaped from a county jail in Tennessee where he was awaiting trial on charges of bank robbery and violating his federal supervised release.

Authorities said he was considered dangerous due to a history of violent behavior. He escaped on August 30.

England is a federal inmate with a history of jail escapes and robbery.

Friday night, in the middle of Arts, Beats and Eats,  a Royal Oak police officer on patrol spotted a man in a McDonald's parking lot on west 11 Mile acting strangely.

"He then watched him get into a vehicle where he was loading up narcotics into a syringe, and attempted to inject himself," O'Donohue said.

Not knowing at the time he was approaching an escaped federal inmate, the officer tried to arrest England, but England fought him off and got away.

After breaking loose from the officer, England tried running again, but was caught. He tried stabbing the officer with that syringe and got away again, running toward this parking structure.

Once inside the structure, police say England then tried to squeeze through a narrow gap in the wall, but became stuck.

"This individual still had the syringe in his hand and was attempting to stab the officer. The officer was assisted by back up officers. They arrived and after struggling for a short time, another officer deployed a taser," O'Donohue said.

Finally able to get England in cuffs, police say he collapsed. He was taken to the hospital and refused to tell police his real name. 

"We had a very strong suspicion this was a serious individual. It's unusual for someone to just not tell us who they are."

Identifying England on Tuesday, police say he had been in a stolen car from North Carolina and had a stolen credit card from Virginia.

Along with that, police found cocaine, a toy handgun and a bank robbery note.

Royal Oak police, working with the FBI, say England has an extensive criminal history including robbery, aggravated assault on a police officer, resisting arrest, felony drug possession, auto theft and fleeing police.

England, who cops call a dangerous menace, is being held on a $100,000 dollar bond.

"I can't recall a time when someone was actively trying to stab an officer with a syringe. Thankfully the officer wasn't stabbed. Other than some scrapes and bruises, he wasn't hurt," O'Donohue said.