A defendant

wanted on a bench warrant fled the courtroom Monday morning, sparking

a manhunt around the Fayette County judicial complex that eventually led

to his capture.

Ricky Strozier

dashed from the courtroom around 10:30 a.m. and deputies chased him toward

Ga. Highway 54 before losing him, said Maj. Bruce Jordan of the Fayette

County Sheriff's Department.

A helicopter

aided in the search, and that forced Strozier under a covered porch behind

a residence on Holly Avenue, where he was found near 1 p.m., Jordan said.

"A lot

of local people helped us with sightings," Jordan said.

When Strozier

was arrested, police were conducting a house-to-house search, Jordan said.

Authorities also charged him with obstructing a police officer, he added.

Strozier had

been scheduled to appear in Superior Court on charges of possession of

cocaine, forgery in the first degree and giving a false name to a police

officer.