A kidnapping suspect accused of multiple other crimes including robbery and assault, who has been on the run since Tuesday, was apprehended in Central Texas on Thursday, Fox 4 News reports.
According Fox 4, Casey Phillips, 25, was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force at his father’s home in Navarro County, Texas, on Thursday morning. KXXV reported that the suspect is from Plano.
The Itasca Police said Phillips walked out of a Waco hospital due to a police miscommunication. Lieutenant William T. Fausnacht of the Itasca Police Department told KCEN TV that the suspect was taken to Hillcrest Hospital in Waco, where he was able to leave without incident.
The kidnapping suspect left the hospital against medical advice, with multiple broken bones and a head injury, according to Fausnacht. The hospital didn’t have the authority to keep him, so he left within 15 minutes.
Phillips was wanted for aggravated robbery, aggravated kidnapping, assault, and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle in Itasca, as well as additional warrants in Burleson. Police said the suspect was most likely under the influence of methamphetamines.
According to Itasca police, Phillips was allegedly involved in a road rage incident in Burleson on Tuesday, January 4, shooting at another vehicle through his car window.
He is also accused of abandoning a vehicle and walking to a nearby 18-wheeler parked on the side of the road, busting out the window with a gun, and “hanging out” for a while before assaulting and kidnapping a mother and her teenage daughter from the Sonic drive-thru line nearby.
Fausnacht said Phillips tried to stab the teen driver in the chest but hit her hand instead. He then pushed the 17-year-old over into the passenger side of the car with her mother and took control of the vehicle, driving erratically through the parking lot.
“They got away, the daughter jumped out, and the mom fell out,” Fausnacht said.
Fausnacht said the suspect fled in the victim’s vehicle and was severely injured a short time later in a car accident on US Highway 67E.
Phillips was rushed to Baylor Scott & White-Hillcrest Medical Center in Waco at that point. However, he managed to flee before the police came to the hospital.
Officials at the hospital claim they were unaware that a criminal suspect was present and that their security staff was never informed, putting their employees in danger.
“We would like to thank HCSO, Burleson PD, US Marshall Service, the fugitive task force, DPS Texas Ranger groups, and the District Attorney’s Office for assisting us in apprehension, transport, and investigations,” the Itasca Police Department said on its Facebook page. “We would like to thank all the media outlets who reached out for their respectful approaches and honest journalism.”
