The man accused of beheading a woman Thursday after being fired at Vaughan Food Co. in Moore had already served prison time on drug and assault charges.

Alton Nolen, 30, was convicted on drug related charges and of assaulting an officer in 2011, court records show. In October 2010, Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper Betsy Randolph pulled Nolen over for driving with an outdated tag. Randolph discovered Nolen had outstanding felony warrants and was attempting to handcuff him when a struggle ensued.

Nolen tried to run away after Randolph placed his right hand in handcuffs, Randolph said, and she held on to the handcuffs, tearing ligaments in her right ring finger.

Nolen fled into nearby woods, troopers later reported, and a manhunt involving four law enforcement agencies and two helicopters lasted 12 hours before he was apprehended.

Randolph said law enforcement was tracking Nolen’s cellphone and knew he was nearby. They worked with Nolen’s then-girlfriend to capture him. Nolen texted his girlfriend and asked her to leave a window open.

“So, when he opened the window our (tactical) team guys, we had guys in the apartment waiting on him, and so when he opened the window to crawl in we had guys on the inside and outside,” Randolph said.

Nolen slipped out of his shirt when officers inside the apartment tried to grab him, and he fled on foot before he was tackled by members of a tactical team. Randolph made the final arrest and transported Nolen to the Logan County jail.

Nolan was pulled over by Oklahoma City police for driving with an illegal tag and busted windshield in 2006 and arrested for drug possession. The arresting officer saw Nolen throw a baggie of crack cocaine and a baggie of marijuana out of the window after he was pulled over, according to a police report. The officer also found a large roll of cash in Nolen’s pocket.

Nolen pled guilty in 2006 to the cocaine-related charges and received probation, which he later violated and was eventually charged with possession and intent to distribute. In 2011, he was convicted of escaping from detention, and assaulting an officer.

In March 2011, Nolen was sent to the Davis Correctional Center in Holdenville where he stayed for seven months before he was transferred to the Lexington Assessment and Reception Center in Lexington, said state Corrections Department spokesman Jerry Massie. Nolen spent the final year of his sentence at the department’s Lawton and Oklahoma City community correction centers.

Massie said Nolen had no misconduct record during his time in the Oklahoma prison system. He was discharged in March 2013.

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