Indiana murder suspect, 22, escapes when prisoner transport van stops at McDonalds: report
While in line at the drive-thru, Taylor requested that the agent roll down a window, reports said
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A manhunt was underway this week for an Indiana man charged with murder who authorities say escaped custody after a prisoner transport van stopped at a McDonald’s, according to multiple reports.
An agent from REDI Transports, of Green Bay, Wis., was transporting Leon Taylor, 22, from Chicago to Lake County, Ind., on Monday, when the prisoner jumping through the van's open window in the city of Gary, despite wearing a chain around his waist, handcuffs, and a leg restraint, Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr. wrote in a news release.
After the agent notified authorities of the escape, officers with the Lake County Sheriff’s Department responded to the scene along with the Lake County Aviation Unit helicopter and a K-9 unit, according to the release. A manhunt had yet to locate Taylor, who remained at large as of early Wednesday.
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Leon Taylor, 22, is wanted on a murder charge for a homicide in East Chicago Ind., authorities said. (Lake County Sheriff's Department)
"We are looking into several promising leads as the investigation continues to develop," Martinez said.
Authorities said Taylor was flown from Texas to Chicago's O’Hare International Airport and the transport company was in charge of picking him up and driving him to Indiana's Lake County Jail.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Before arriving at the jail, the REDI agent pulled into the McDonald’s drive-thru to make sure the prisoner was fed, Martinez said, according to The Times of Northwest Indiana.
While in line at the drive-thru, Taylor requested that the agent roll down a window so he could remove his protective mask and “spit” out the window, Martinez said. After doing so, Taylor fled out the window.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The sheriff added that the leg brace should have prevented the prisoner from running, but, “for some reason, it didn’t work properly," the paper reported.
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Taylor is wanted on a murder charge for a homicide in East Chicago, Ind., authorities said. He is "considered to be dangerous," the release added.
The Associated Press contributed to this report