Moment murder suspect in handcuffs and leg brace escapes from back of jail transport van after it stopped at McDonald's
Authorities in Indiana have released surveillance video that captures the moment a murder suspect escaped from a private transport van at a McDonald's drive-thru window during his extradition from Texas.
The incident took place at 3pm on Monday in Gary, Indiana. The suspect, 22-year-old Leon Taylor, remained at large as of late Wednesday morning.
Footage from the parking lot of the McDonald's located at 35th and Grant Street in Gary depicts Taylor jumping out of the back of a black van and fleeing on foot, despite wearing a special leg brace intended to keep him from running.
The driver of the vehicle, who is an employee of REDI Transports, a private company headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin, makes a U-turn, then emerges from the van and tries to give chase, but to no avail.
The Lake County Sheriff's Department on Tuesday released surveillance video showing a murder suspect's escape from custody in Gary, Indiana
Leon Taylor is pictured jumping out of a transport van operated by a private company while at a McDonald's drive-thru
Taylor, 22, breaks into a run, despite wearing a special leg brace that was intended to prevent him from running
Taylor, seen fleeing the parking lot, was being extradited from Texas to Indiana to face murder and marijuana charges
Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez released a statement, harshly criticizing the transport company worker for his actions.
'After watching this video, I am highly disturbed and disappointed by the procedures the private transportation driver used during the transfer of this suspect to our jail,' he wrote on Tuesday.
The sheriff also accused the driver of offering Lake County investigators 'conflicting statements' about the escape.
'This driver initially told our officers the suspect jumped out of a window, but the video clearly shows him exiting through a door to the vehicle,' Martinez noted.
The driver of the transport van (pictured at drive-thru window) initially claimed Taylor had jumped out the window, but the video shows he left through a back door
The driver (pictured) gave chase, but could not catch the fleeing suspect
The Lake County sheriff said he 'disturbed and disappointed' by the actions of the transport driver during the escape, and his decision to offer conflicting information to investigators after the fact
It was initially reported that Martinez was wearing handcuffs, a belly chain and a leg brace when he made his escape through a van window at the drive-thru.
'The suspect appears to be struggling with his leg brace, and no shackles were used,' the sheriff stated. 'We believe shackles could have prevented the suspect from getting away. We also believe the suspect may have been manipulating his leg brace during the trip and was apparently continuing to disable the device when he exited the SUV.'
Martinez said that the circumstances of the escape are being investigated.
'I find it appalling that REDI Transports failed to use appropriate caution and may have put the public at risk,' he concluded.
REDI Transports, which has been under contract with Lake County since October, also released a statement, saying the company continues to fully cooperate with the sheriff's investigation into the escape.
'We are also conducting our own internal investigation into what happened and are determining what procedural or process changes may be needed to ensure this does not happen again,' a spokesperson for the company said.
The search for Taylor continued on Wednesday, with the sheriff saying that his investigators were 'looking into several promising leads.'
At the time of his escape, the 22-year-old was being extradited from Texas to face charges including murder and marijuana possession in Lake County, Indiana.
Taylor was wearing a grey hoodie with an additional black hoodie underneath, black Puma tennis shoes and black jeans
The brazen escape took place at this McDonald's on Grant Street in Gary, Indiana, at 3pm on Monday, when the driver stopped to feed Taylor
Sheriff Martinez told NWI Times the driver pulled into the McDonald's drive-thru in Gary at 3pm to order food for the suspect before taking him to jail.
According to the driver's initial account, which has since been disproved by the video, Taylor asked him to open a window in the van so that he could remove his protective mask and 'spit,' and then made his escape.
The sheriff’s office and Gary police helped search for Taylor. A police helicopter and K-9 dogs also were called in but could not locate him.
Martinez said that all extraditions outside of a radius of approximately 250 miles from the Lake County Jail are handled by the courts and not by the sheriff’s department.
A source familiar with the investigation said Taylor was wanted for the November 19 fatal shooting and robbery of 52-year-old Daniel Nitzsche in East Chicago.
Taylor was wanted for murder in East Chicago, purportedly in connection to the November 19 shooting death and robbery of Daniel Nitzsche (right)
Nitzsche, a married father-of-three, was shot once in the chest in broad daylight and died in the hospital a short time later.
A GoFundMe campaign described Nitzsche as 'a man of great character who brought out the best in those around him.'
Taylor is from Hammond, Indiana, and is known to visit Gary and East Chicago. He is described as a black male, 6 feet tall and about 162lbs, with hazel eyes and brown hair.
He was wearing a grey hoodie with an additional black hoodie underneath, black Puma tennis shoes and black jeans
Anyone with information on Taylor’s whereabouts is asked to call 911. He is considered to be dangerous.
