Police are conducting a manhunt after a murder suspect allegedly fled a prison transport van while it was stopped at a McDonald’s drive-thru in Indiana.
Leon Taylor, 22, who was shackled with a belly chain, handcuffs, and leg restraints, managed to flee from an open window of a REDI Transports van during a visit to the fast-food restaurant on Monday and is at large, according to Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr.
“We are looking into several promising leads as the investigation continues to develop,” Martinez said, according to Fox News. Taylor was being extradited from Texas to East Chicago, Indiana, for a murder charge.
The escape occurred when the transport van pulled up to the drive-thru lane at McDonald’s. The agent with REDI Transports was stopping to get Taylor a meal when Taylor asked the agent to roll down the window so he could spit. That is when Taylor allegedly jumped through the open window and fled.
“The agent called Gary police, and the Lake County Sheriff’s Department was requested to assist in the search for the suspect,” the sheriff said in a press release. “Lake County Sheriff’s Department officers responded to the scene along with the Lake County Aviation Unit helicopter and K-9 unit.”
While the leg restraint should have kept him from getting far, “for some reason, it didn’t work properly,” the sheriff said.
Martinez said Taylor should be considered “dangerous” and that anyone who knows of his location should call 911.
