Sarky Devotchka
02-13-2006, 01:19 AM
CHICAGO -- A midnight breakout from the Cook County Jail sparked a manhunt for six dangerous fugitives Sunday and raised questions about a shortage of guards at the 10,000-inmate jail.
Armed with only a homemade knife and some hot water, the inmates overpowered guards and escaped from a special unit for the most incorrigible inmates.
Two of the men were apprehended roughly six hours later in a nearby suburb, and a third was captured late Sunday on the city's South Side. Authorities said murder charges are pending against one of the three men who remained at large.
The escape was the second jail break since Friday and third since June. No inmates had escaped from the jail in the previous 10 years.
Authorities are also trying to determine how a handgun used to shoot three inmates on Feb. 1 was smuggled into the maximum security wing of the jail.
"The last ten days, as far as I'm concerned, makes me sick," said Cook County Sheriff Michael Sheahan. "But we have to investigate and find out why that happened."
The jail currently employs about 2,700 guards.
A report two months ago found the jail, which is a series of buildings located near the criminal courthouse, to be understaffed by 700 guards.
Only one guard was on duty Saturday night in the shower area of the housing unit instead of three, Sheahan said.
The incident began when a guard removed an inmate's handcuffs and leg irons to let him shower, which was unwise without another guard present, the sheriff said.
"He shouldn't have been in there by himself," Sheahan said. "He should never have done what he did."
The inmate threw hot and soapy water from a shower on the guard and then held him at bay with the makeshift knife. He then handcuffed the guard and put on his uniform.
The inmate then opened the electronic jail cell doors to let six other inmates out. One of the six set a mattress on fire to attract the attention of another guard. Once that guard arrived, the inmates overpowered him and took his keys to unlock the doors to a parking lot.
The inmate wearing the guard's uniform immediately was caught, but six managed to make it through the parking lot, over a barbed wire fence and out onto the streets.
About six hours later, a suburban police dispatcher driving home saw two suspicious-looking men and alerted police.
Oak Park police officer Dawn Carver said she was able to capture one of the men as he ran through a park toward railroad tracks. Another officer stopped the second man by a train viaduct.
They were identified as Arnold Joyner, 43, of Chicago, charged with theft and battery, and David Earnest, 38, charged with murder.
A third inmate, Michael McIntosh, 30, of Chicago, was arrested on Chicago's South Side Sunday evening, said Chicago police spokeswoman JoAnn Taylor. McIntosh is charged with aggravated battery with a firearm.
Authorities identified the fugitives still missing Sunday as Franciso Romero, 23, of Chicago, charged with murder; Eric Bernard, 22, of Chicago; charged with armed robbery and Tyrone Everhart, 28, of Markham, who is charged with aggravated kidnapping and attempting to escape from the courthouse in south suburban Markham.
Cook County Sheriff's Police spokesman Bill Cunningham said Everhart's estranged father is a sheriff's office captain who works in the jail.
On Saturday, authorities arrested inmate Warren Mathis at a suburban motel. He apparently escaped from the jail Friday by slipping into a laundry truck. Mathis was returned to the jail where he had been held since Aug. 29 on armed robbery charges and a parole violation.
Two jail officers have been suspended with pay pending an investigation of Mathis' escape, Sheahan said. The officers erred in failing to check the laundry truck and trusting Mathis, who was part of a work crew at the time of his escape.
"One thing I've learned in the 16 years I've been sheriff: Never trust an inmate," Sheahan said.
In June, accused bank robber Randy Rencher escaped from the jail while delivering meals to other inmates. He was in custody facing drug and weapons charges, plus charges of attempted criminal sexual assault and home invasion. He turned himself in to authorities in November.
Rencher is suspected of robbing two banks in Chicago and a third in Ohio while he was at large.
Federal authorities have not given Cook County a chance to question Rencher, Sheahan said, so it's still unknown whether the inmate may have colluded with officers.
A shooting inside the jail's maximum security unit earlier this month left three inmates with minor injuries. Authorities have said that a 21-year-old woman, who was reportedly the girlfriend of one of the inmates, smuggled a gun into the jail and slipped it through a plexiglass divider.
Copyright 2006 by NBC5.com The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Armed with only a homemade knife and some hot water, the inmates overpowered guards and escaped from a special unit for the most incorrigible inmates.
Two of the men were apprehended roughly six hours later in a nearby suburb, and a third was captured late Sunday on the city's South Side. Authorities said murder charges are pending against one of the three men who remained at large.
The escape was the second jail break since Friday and third since June. No inmates had escaped from the jail in the previous 10 years.
Authorities are also trying to determine how a handgun used to shoot three inmates on Feb. 1 was smuggled into the maximum security wing of the jail.
"The last ten days, as far as I'm concerned, makes me sick," said Cook County Sheriff Michael Sheahan. "But we have to investigate and find out why that happened."
The jail currently employs about 2,700 guards.
A report two months ago found the jail, which is a series of buildings located near the criminal courthouse, to be understaffed by 700 guards.
Only one guard was on duty Saturday night in the shower area of the housing unit instead of three, Sheahan said.
The incident began when a guard removed an inmate's handcuffs and leg irons to let him shower, which was unwise without another guard present, the sheriff said.
"He shouldn't have been in there by himself," Sheahan said. "He should never have done what he did."
The inmate threw hot and soapy water from a shower on the guard and then held him at bay with the makeshift knife. He then handcuffed the guard and put on his uniform.
The inmate then opened the electronic jail cell doors to let six other inmates out. One of the six set a mattress on fire to attract the attention of another guard. Once that guard arrived, the inmates overpowered him and took his keys to unlock the doors to a parking lot.
The inmate wearing the guard's uniform immediately was caught, but six managed to make it through the parking lot, over a barbed wire fence and out onto the streets.
About six hours later, a suburban police dispatcher driving home saw two suspicious-looking men and alerted police.
Oak Park police officer Dawn Carver said she was able to capture one of the men as he ran through a park toward railroad tracks. Another officer stopped the second man by a train viaduct.
They were identified as Arnold Joyner, 43, of Chicago, charged with theft and battery, and David Earnest, 38, charged with murder.
A third inmate, Michael McIntosh, 30, of Chicago, was arrested on Chicago's South Side Sunday evening, said Chicago police spokeswoman JoAnn Taylor. McIntosh is charged with aggravated battery with a firearm.
Authorities identified the fugitives still missing Sunday as Franciso Romero, 23, of Chicago, charged with murder; Eric Bernard, 22, of Chicago; charged with armed robbery and Tyrone Everhart, 28, of Markham, who is charged with aggravated kidnapping and attempting to escape from the courthouse in south suburban Markham.
Cook County Sheriff's Police spokesman Bill Cunningham said Everhart's estranged father is a sheriff's office captain who works in the jail.
On Saturday, authorities arrested inmate Warren Mathis at a suburban motel. He apparently escaped from the jail Friday by slipping into a laundry truck. Mathis was returned to the jail where he had been held since Aug. 29 on armed robbery charges and a parole violation.
Two jail officers have been suspended with pay pending an investigation of Mathis' escape, Sheahan said. The officers erred in failing to check the laundry truck and trusting Mathis, who was part of a work crew at the time of his escape.
"One thing I've learned in the 16 years I've been sheriff: Never trust an inmate," Sheahan said.
In June, accused bank robber Randy Rencher escaped from the jail while delivering meals to other inmates. He was in custody facing drug and weapons charges, plus charges of attempted criminal sexual assault and home invasion. He turned himself in to authorities in November.
Rencher is suspected of robbing two banks in Chicago and a third in Ohio while he was at large.
Federal authorities have not given Cook County a chance to question Rencher, Sheahan said, so it's still unknown whether the inmate may have colluded with officers.
A shooting inside the jail's maximum security unit earlier this month left three inmates with minor injuries. Authorities have said that a 21-year-old woman, who was reportedly the girlfriend of one of the inmates, smuggled a gun into the jail and slipped it through a plexiglass divider.
Copyright 2006 by NBC5.com The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.