Feb 11, 2006 11:04 pm US/Central
Cook County Jail Fugitive Apprehended
Two Sheriff's Deputies Disciplined In The Case
by Rafael Romo
LYONS (CBS) ―
A 25-hour massive manhunt came to an end on Saturday when a suspect who escaped from a maximum security division of the Cook County Jail was apprehended.
As CBS 2's Rafael Romo reports, Warren Mathis, 35, did not have much to say on Saturday afternoon when he was led back to the jail by Cook County sheriff's deputies.
Mathis, who is believed to have escaped confinement via a laundry truck, was arrested at noon at the Presidential Inn motel, at 3922 S. Harlem Av. in Lyons. He apparently used a female friend to get a room there.
Some motel workers reported that had no idea one of their guests was a fugitive.
Only an unmade bed, a discarded drink container, and a cigarette were left in the room.
But authorities say Mathis bought heroin overnight, after a girlfriend in New Mexico wired him money to a Chicago currency exchange.
Officers with the sheriff's department, who had received a tip about his location, arrested Mathis without incident, according to sheriff's office spokesman Bill Cunningham.
The manhunt began on Friday round 11 a.m. when Mathis escaped from Division 11 of the jail, at 31st Street and California Avenue, after picking up a load of inmate uniforms, according to authorities.
Mathis made his break while on a work detail cleaning the jail's rear loading dock. He was awaiting trial on three counts of armed robbery in the holdup of a North Riverside ice cream store last August, and was already on parole from a robbery in New Mexico.
Jail officials believe Mathis might have taken advantage of the fact the he was assigned to an inmate work crew that had access to the loading dock area.
After escaping from the jail, Mathis apparently got in touch with at least three acquaintances who provided him with cash.
Back at the County Jail now, Mathis will be restrained 23 hours a day while the investigation continues on how he was able to escape.
Also at the jail, two officers have been de-deputized, meaning that they have lost their badges and weapons.
They both face suspension or termination within the next few days, after the investigation is completed.
This was the second incident at the jail involving a breach of security in the last month. In the other incident, a gun was smuggled into the jail.
There was also another escape at the jail just eight months ago.
(© 2006 CBS Worldwide Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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