Murder suspect escapes police custody by jumping out of car window at McDonald’s drive-thru in Indiana

A murder suspect with a violent criminal record escaped police custody by jumping out of a transport vehicle window while they waited at a drive-thru of a McDonald's restaurant in Gary, Indiana.The incident unfolded about 3 p.m. Monday when Leon Taylor, 22, asked a transport agent for the vehicle's window to be lowered so he could spit outside.

Instead, he escaped through the window.

Police say that Taylor was bound by a belly chain restraint, handcuffs and a leg brace, but he was able to vanish after leaving the transport vehicle. He was being extradited to Indiana from Texas at the time to face murder charges.

Taylor is accused of the shooting death of 52-year-old Daniel Nitzsche on Nov. 19 in East Chicago. Police say that Nitzsche told an officer that two men in ski masks robbed him before shooting him twice. He later died at a hospital.

Police have been trying to track down Taylor since the escape Monday.

Taylor has a history of violent crime, according to court records obtained by WBBM-TV, including numerous charges of armed robbery since 2018. Prosecutors also accused him of trying to escape when he cut his ankle monitor.

Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez said that he's a black man about 6 feet tall, weighing 162 pounds. He has hazel eyes and brown hair, and was wearing black jeans, a gray hoodie, and black Puma tennis shoes when he escaped.

Police said he should be considered armed and dangerous.

Here's a local news report about the escape: