NEW YORK -- A subway turnstile did what Tennessee authorities couldn't do in 11 years: catch Billy Forrest.

Forrest, a convicted armed robber, was serving a 45-year sentence when he escaped from a minimum-security facility in Nashville on July 4, 1980.

For 11 1/2 years, Forrest eluded the law. Until yesterday.

Trying to beat the $1.15 fare, Forrest, 52, hopped a turnstile at the Times Square subway station and into the waiting arms of Transit Police Officer John Palmieri, transit police said.