By Megan Crepeau
Chicago Tribune
COOK COUNTY, Ill. — The FBI is offering a $2,000 reward for tips leading to the arrest of a Cook County Jail detainee who allegedly swapped identities with another man and slipped out of custody over the weekend.
Jahquez Scott, 21, is still at large and “should be considered armed and dangerous,” according to an FBI flyer offering money for information leading to his arrest.
Scott, a parolee, was facing jail, having just been ordered held Saturday for a gun case and for violating bail bond on a pending drug case.
Another man, Quintin Henderson, had been ordered released on his own recognizance that same day. He would later tell authorities that Scott offered him $1,000 if he allowed Scott to use his identity to leave jail, authorities told a judge Tuesday during a bail hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building that was broadcast on YouTube.
In a recent booking photo, Scott has distinctive tattoos on both sides of his face. But he was wearing a mask when he used Henderson’s name to get out, according to the sheriff’s office.
An arrest warrant was issued for Scott this week, charging him with escape from a penal institution.
Scott has a conviction on his record for aggravated battery to a peace officer, for which he was on parole, and was facing a pending drug case when he was picked up on a gun charge in recent days.
When a jail guard called out Henderson’s name on Saturday, Scott stepped forward, identifying himself as Henderson, while the real Henderson stayed put, prosecutors said. Scott allegedly used the real Henderson’s inmate number and signed release documents as Henderson, and after retrieving the Henderson’s personal property, he walked freely out of Cook County Jail.
Things soon began to fall apart when the real Henderson finally approached a jail guard, claiming that he’d fallen asleep and wondered when his name and number would be called, Murphy said.
Henderson, 28, of the 3900 block of West Gladys Avenue, was later charged with felony aiding and abetting an escape.
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