Escaped killer Kamron Taylor caught in Chicago
CHICAGO (WLS) -- After days of searching, Chicago police have taken escaped killer Kamron Taylor into custody, and his aunt is facing charges that she helped him escape.
Taylor was taken into custody Friday night around 9 p.m. near 92nd and Stony Island Avenue on the city's South Side by police officers responding to a call about a suspicious person in the area.
After a brief foot chase, two 4th District police officers arrested the 23-year-old. Police say he had a loaded .38 caliber handgun.
Authorities have also arrested Taylor's aunt, Tonya Grant, who was once a guard at the jail, on suspicion of giving him information that aided his escape.
Grant, 50, of Kankakee, has been charged with obstructing justice and aiding in escape after authorities say she "substantially assisted" in Taylor's escape. A judge set bond for her at $150,000.
"We had no idea initially who he was, but happy to be able to do our job and find out who he was," said Officer Montilla Oberrian, Chicago Police Department.
Officers said Taylor identified himself as Tryeon Smith of Joliet, an alias he has been known to use. He was eventually positively identified by his tattoos and fingerprints.
"It was a good arrest and got a whole lot better when we found out what was really going on," said Officer Matthew Kozlovski, Chicago Police Department.
Taylor, who was awaiting sentencing for a 2013 murder conviction, escaped the Jerome Combs Detention Center and had been on the run since early Wednesday. Authorities said he never returned to his cell during lockdown, which went unnoticed by corrections officers at the jail. He escaped by beating and choking a veteran corrections officer, and stealing the guard's uniform during a routine jail check.
"I hope that he is permanently removed from the streets, that he is put into the Illinois Department of Corrections," said Kankakee County Sheriff Tim Bukowski.
There will be no bail for the convicted murderer. Appearing before Cook County Judge James Brown Saturday wearing a black and white striped Department of Corrections jumpsuit, Taylor faced multiple criminal charges for being found with a loaded revolver when he was captured.
"Kamron Taylor's being charged with felony unlawful use of a weapon charges in our city," said Lt. Maury Richards, Chicago Police Department. "He'll also be returned to custody from where he escaped in Kankakee."
Authorities said Taylor could be transferred back downstate in the next few days, possibly sometime this weekend.
No specifics on the condition of the injured guard have been released, only that he is in the hospital and is improving.
TAYLOR'S CAPTURE A RELIEF TO VICTIM'S FAMILY
The news of escaped prisoner Taylor's capture in Chicago served as relief for the family of the man he murdered some 60 miles away in Kankakee.
Taylor was scheduled to be sentenced in May for killing 21-year-old Nelson Williams Jr. during a robbery in June 2013. He faces a sentence of 45 years to life. Williams was shot in the head on his front porch during a scuffle with a man demanding money.
It was an exhausting trial for the family of the victim.
"I knew it was going to come down to this, I just didn't know how long," said Nelson Williams, the victim's father. "But I'm glad it's over with."
Williams says his son wasn't perfect but he certainly didn't deserve to get killed.
When Taylor, who has an extensive record, escaped jail on Wednesday, Williams says the thought crossed his mind briefly that Taylor would come back to hurt someone else.
"I just worried when I go home that he would ambush me like he did my son," Williams said. "After that it's over with."
