Illinois convicted killer overpowers guard, escapes

By Brendan O'Brien (Reuters) - A convicted murderer awaiting sentencing in Illinois overpowered a jail guard early Wednesday, took his keys and uniform and fled in his SUV, authorities said. Kamron Taylor, 23, escaped the Jerome Combs Detention Center in Kankakee, about 60 miles south of Chicago, and is considered armed and dangerous, the Kankakee County Sheriff's Office said. The vehicle, a brown 2012 Chevrolet Equinox, was found Wednesday morning in a Kankakee neighborhood, sheriff's office spokesman Ken McCabe said. The guard is in "pretty bad shape" and is being treated at a local hospital, McCabe said. Police were searching door-to-door in Kankakee for Taylor and area schools were on a precautionary lockdown, according to local media. Taylor was convicted in February of fatally shooting Nelson Williams, 21, during a botched robbery in 2013 and faces up to life in prison when he is sentenced, according to the Kankakee Daily Journal. The newspaper said Taylor tried to escape from the courthouse after he was found guilty but was detained by deputies and bailiffs. (Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Fiona Ortiz and Mohammad Zargham)