Fugitive Howard Ascento has been jailed for four months after admitting escaping lawful custody and assaulting a court security officer.

The 25-year-old, of Town Hill, appeared at Magistrates' Court this morning after police caught him on the roof of a Spring Hill, Warwick home just before 8am today after 19 days on the run.

He fled from the same court building on September 6 after being given ten days in prison for driving while disqualified.

The court heard how Ascento escaped custody by excusing himself to speak with someone in the court gallery, before bolting through the doors.

He avoided security on the second floor and began making his way down the steps to the foyer of the Dame Lois Browne-Evans building on Court Street.

Prosecutor Nicole Smith said one security guard yelled “He's coming!” in an attempt to alert his colleagues to Ascento's escape.

Another security officer tried to grab Ascento as he burst through the court's metal detector and both men fell through the front doors of the building, with the security guard injuring his shoulder. Ascento admitted assaulting the man.

Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo told the defendant: “You've wasted time and resources, unnecessarily.” He pointed out that in his attempt to avoid ten days in prison, Ascento would now serve four months.

Handcuffed and dressed in a black shirt with the words “Honour, Trust, Respect, Devotion” on the front, Ascento apologised to the court, saying: “I didn't mean any harm. I was just scared. I've never been to prison.”