Madonna's "Psychotic, Violent" Stalker Captured After Escaping Mental Hospital

Robert Dewey Hoskins was apprehended by LAPD this morning and is being taken back to the facility from which he fled last week

Justice has been served. And rather quickly.

Not long after the Los Angeles Police Department announced that the "psychotic" and "very violent" man convicted of stalking Madonna had escaped from a mental hospital, they were able to break the good news that he has been caught.

Phew!

Robert Dewey Hoskins was apprehended around 9 a.m. this morning not far from the mental facility from which he escaped. The 54-year-old is currently in police custody and is being escorted back to the Metropolitan State Hospital.

Hoskins, who served a decade in prison for threatening and stalking the pop queen, was able to walk away from the facility without being noticed just one week ago. Police had been searching for the man, describing him as "highly psychotic" and "very violent" and asking the public to contact authorities immediately if they came into contact with the man.

No mug-shot is being released at this time.

Madonna's camp has declined to comment on the incident.

"On Friday February 3, 2012 a patient left the grounds of Metropolitan State Hospital (MSH) without authorization," read the hospital's official statement. "MSH police department immediately notified the city of Norwalk's office of public safety, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and the California Highway Patrol. MSH cannot release any specific information about patients due to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Safety and security remain a top priority at Metropolitan State Hospital."

In any case, Madonna's not the only star who's no doubt breathing a sigh of relief at his capture this morning: Halle Berry, too, was allegedly one of the celebrity targets of Hoskins, as she cited increased death threats as her motivation to leave the country in a recent legal filing.