Robert Dewey Hoskins was apprehended near the Metropolitan State Hospital in Norwalk, where he escaped last Friday, Los Angeles police spokesman Richard French said.
He had been committed there last year and was returned to the facility after his arrest.
Hoskins, 54, served a 10-year prison sentence for stalking and threatening Madonna after being convicted by a jury in 1996. The singer reluctantly testified against the man, who was shot by her personal security after he jumped the fence of her Hollywood Hills home.
Police asked for the public's help Thursday in locating Haskins. They said he "highly psychotic" and can be extremely violent.
Court records show he was convicted of vandalism in July 2011.
