Inmate overpowers guard, escapes from Illinois jail

KANKAKEE, Ill. -- A man awaiting sentencing for murder escaped from jail Wednesday after beating a guard into unconsciousness, taking his keys and uniform and speeding off in his SUV.

Kamron T. Taylor, who has a history of escape attempts, fled from the Jerome Combs Detention Center in Kankakee about 3 a.m. He somehow escaped from his cell, hid inside the facility, then beat and choked the guard who was making rounds, said Kankakee County Sheriff Timothy Bukowski.

Taylor, a 23-year-old from Kankakee, is considered armed and dangerous, the sheriff said. He was convicted of first-degree murder in February and faces a sentence of 45 years to life in prison.

Besides hunting him down, investigators were eager to determine how Taylor got free in what was the first successful escape from the decade-old lockup housing about 450 detainees.

"The speculation on my part is somebody didn't do their job properly," Bukowski said.