HOUSTON—A capital murder suspect and convicted sex offender who was on the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Top 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list has been caught in New York City.
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott’s office on Tuesday announced the arrest of 48-year-old Joel Burt Thompkins.
Thompkins was sought in connection with the June 4 killing of a woman at the Luxor Apartments in Houston.
Investigators said Thompkins beat 46-year-old Bridget Renee Jones with a blunt object, stabbed her and then burglarized her apartment. Jones’ vehicle was also stolen.
HPD Homicide investigators said Thompkins stole a child’s game system, a laptop and a 37-inch LCD television, all of which he sold for narcotics.
A capital murder warrant for his arrest was issued in Harris County on June 8.
HPD said Thompkins was arrested without incident in New York on Friday and admitted his role in Jones’ death. He was still awaiting extradition to Houston.
Thompkins was also wanted in Dallas County for failing to register as a convicted sex offender.
Thompkins was previously arrested in Dallas multiple times from 1979 to 1991 on charges of sexual assault, burglary of a habitation, dangerous drugs, robbery and evading arrest.
In addition, he has a lengthy criminal history in New York, spanning from 1987 to 2009 and including two arrests on felony firearm charges and numerous arrests on misdemeanor charges of burglary and possession of a controlled substance.
