Prisoner Escapes From Private Transport Vehicle
At approximately 3 p.m. on today’s date (12/14/2020), the Lake County Sheriff’s Department Transportation Division was notified that a 22-year-old man accused of murder escaped from a private, contracted transport van while being extradited to Lake County from Texas, according Pamela Jones Spokesperson for the Sheriffs Department.
22-year-old Leon Taylor, of Hammond, Indiana, is described as a black male, 6 feet tall, and about 162 pounds. He has hazel eyes and brown hair. He is wanted on an alleged murder charge for a homicide in East Chicago in November of this year in an alley on 150th. .
An agent from REDI Transports, of Green Bay, Wisconsin, was transporting Taylor from Texas, when he escaped in the area of 35th and Grant Street in Gary. The agent called Gary police, and the Lake County Sheriff’s Department was requested to assist in the search for the suspect. Lake County Sheriff’s Department officers responded to the scene along with the Lake County Aviation Unit helicopter and K-9 unit.
It was learned from sources close to RNS, the suspect asked for the window to be open so he could spit while stopping at McDonald’s drive thru since they were running ahead of schedule, the prisoner escaped out the window with the driver pinned between vehicles in the line. The transport vehicle is believed to be this Toyota Highlander pictured below.
At the time of escape, Taylor was wearing a belly chain with handcuffs and a leg brace. He was also wearing a grey hoodie with an additional black hoodie underneath, black Puma tennis shoes and black jeans (as shown in an attached photo). He is known to frequent Gary, East Chicago and Hammond, Indiana.
All extraditions outside of a radius of approximately 250 miles from the Lake County Jail are handled by the courts. The Lake County Sheriff’s Department is then notified of an estimated time of arrival to the Lake County Jail. In this case, the Lake County Sheriff’s Department is assisting because the escape occurred in Lake County and the suspect was being transported to the Lake County Jail.
At this time, the search for Taylor is ongoing. Anyone with information on Taylor’s whereabouts is asked to call 9-1-1 immediately. This suspect is considered to be dangerous.
