Handcuffed murder suspect escapes custody at McDonald’s drive-thru, Indiana cops say

A murder suspect being extradited from Texas to Indiana escaped while in a McDonald’s drive-thru, according to police.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Department in Gary, Indiana, says a manhunt is underway for 22-year-old Leon Taylor, wanted for a homicide in East Chicago, according to the sheriff’s office.

Helicopters and a K-9 unit are being used in the manhunt for Taylor, who escaped around 3 p.m. Monday in the area of 35th Street and Grant Street in Gary, the sheriff’s office said.

REDI Transports was handling the extradition, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office. The driver pulled into a McDonald’s so Taylor could be fed before he was booked into the local jail, the Northwest Indiana Times reported.

While at the McDonald’s, Taylor asked the driver if he could roll down the van window so he could spit, according to the Northwest Indiana Times. When the agent complied, police say, Taylor fled through the window, the newspaper reported.

Taylor was wearing a belly chain, handcuffs and leg brace, the sheriff’s department said. It’s unclear if the REDI Transports driver chased after Taylor, CBS 2 reported.

“They had three or four helicopters in the sky, they had tanks rolling down – so they were really trying to catch this guy,” Nova Carmichael, a DoorDash driver, told CBS2.

Taylor is described as a 6-foot, 162-pound Black man with hazel eyes and brown hair, the sheriff’s office said. He is considered to be dangerous.

He was arrested in Dallas County, Texas, on Dec. 2, according to the Northwest Indiana Times. Taylor is from nearby Hammond and could have help in the area, CBS 2 reported.

Extraditions that occur outside 250 miles from the Lake County Jail are handled by the courts, the sheriff’s department said.