Killer Who Escaped Jail Back in Custody

Kamron Taylor was recently convicted of murder and was awaiting sentencing

A convicted killer who attacked a guard and escaped a Kankakee, Illinois, jail facility earlier in the week was back in police custody in late Friday night, officials said.

Chicago Police officers arrested Kamron Taylor, who had a loaded handgun in his possession, shortly before midnight near 92nd Street and South Stony Island in the Calumet Heights neighborhood on Chicago's South Side. Taylor allegedly has connections to Chicago, according to Kankakee County Sheriff Tim Bukowski.

Taylor was charged with four felony counts relating to possession of a firearm, according to Chicago Police.

The Kankakee County Sheriff's Department first announced Kamron Taylor's arrest in a message on Facebook.

Taylor, 23, was recently convicted of murder and was awaiting sentencing when he got away from the Jerome Combs Detention Center at about 3 a.m. Wednesday.

Officers in Chicago initially identified Taylor based on "unusual tattoos," particularly one that depicted an "unusual name" on his neck, Bukowski said. They were called to the area for a report of a suspicious person and found Taylor when they arrived.

"If you're in law enforcement very long, you just get a feeling that something is not right, and I think that's what happened. And the guy took off and fled and they pursued him,"  Bukowski said.

About an hour before Taylor was caught, the reward for information about him was raised to $25,000.

Taylor allegedly escaped from his two-man cell, hid in the jail facility and attacked a guard when he walked by, beating and choking him, Kankakee County Sheriff Tim Bukowski said. He then took the guard's keys, uniform, and 2012 Chevy Equinox.

Officials do not know how Taylor escaped from his cell, but Bukowski believes the inmate did not enter his cell after the facility went on lockdown.

Questions have also been raised about staff cuts at the jail facility that were made in December. The inmates allegedly knew about the staff cuts and may have tried to take advantage of it, Bukowski said.

"They have nothing else to do. They sit in those cells, and they think about things like this, and they work the system pretty well," Bukowski said.

Police about five hours later found the vehicle allegedly used in Taylor's escape in the 1100 block of South Lincoln, but Taylor remained on the run until late Friday night.

The 23-year-old inmate beat a prison guard and escaped from Kankakee Detention Center Wednesday. NBC Chicagoโ€™s Christian Farr reports.
Dozens of companies closed their doors and cost the county millions of dollars after Illinois lawmakers reformed tax rules. NBC Chicago’s Phil Rogers reports.

More than two dozen officers searched the area for days, believing that Taylor had stayed in the area. Officials said they believed someone was helping Taylor and late Friday night increased the reward for information leading to his arrest.

The guard remains hospitalized, but his condition has improved, according to Bukowski. The sheriff said officials believe Taylor thought he killed the guard by strangulation and will likely be charged accordingly.

Taylor is currently being held in Chicago, but he will likely return to Kankakee jail facilities.

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