Inmate Escapes From Chicago Jail Using Mask to Aid Disguise

Stock photo of surgical masks. (Mika Baumeister/Unsplash)

An inmate at a Chicago jail on Saturday posed as another inmate who was due to be discharged, and escaped from the facility while wearing a mask, authorities have said.

Jahquez Scott, 21, who was wrongly released from Cook County Jail, allegedly took on the identity of Quintin Henderson, 28, in exchange for $1,000. Henderson was set to be released on a recognizance I-Bond for a drug charge.

“Scott, 21, wearing a mask, then used Henderson’s full name and personal information to pose as Henderson and left custody on Henderson’s I-bond,” the Cook County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

Scott allegedly swapped a hooded sweatshirt with Henderson to disguise himself, and stepped forward from Cook County Jail’s receiving tunnel when Henderson’s name was called out by corrections officers.

A mask allegedly covered up Scott’s distinctive face markings that include tattoos of a heart on his left cheek and dripping blood on his right. All inmates at the facility are required to wear masks as ordered by a federal judge due to the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic, commonly known as the novel coronavirus pandemic.

“Jail staff learned there was a discrepancy when they did not have Henderson’s paperwork when he provided his information for discharge,” the statement said.

After Scott was wrongfully released, Henderson told officers he had fallen asleep, and asked them whether his name and number had been called out, Cook County Assistant State Attorney Jim Murphy said at Henderson’s bail hearing, The Hill reported.

The sheriff’s office said an internal investigation is being conducted as authorities search for Scott, who has been classified as an “absconder” by the Illinois Department of Corrections. He had been arrested a day prior and had a $50,000 bond for unlawfully using a weapon while on parole for battery of an officer.

According to the statement, Henderson has now been charged with “aiding escape” and was ordered held without bond for violation of bail bond on his original narcotics case.

Judge Mary C. Marubio told Henderson that the nature of his offense “isn’t just aiding and abetting.”

“It’s who you aided and abetted—a violent person and a dangerous person on parole—and that’s weighing heavily against you,” Marubio said via Zoom.

Henderson’s bond was set at $25,000 and he is scheduled to return to court on May 20.

The Epoch Times has contacted the Cook County Sheriff’s Office for further information.

The FBI, meanwhile, has offered a reward of up to $2,000 for information leading to Scott’s capture. According to an FBI wanted poster, Scott is 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 150 pounds.

Individuals with information on Scott’s whereabouts should contact the FBI at [phone] or the sheriff’s office at [phone]. Anonymous tips may be left at fbi.gov/tips.