Bail was set at $50,000 Monday for a former Kankakee County correctional officer accused of lying to police searching for her nephew, a murderer who had escaped from jail.
Kankakee County prosecutors have charged Tonya D. Grant with obstructing justice on Thursday when she “knowingly provided false information” to an investigator questioning her about the escape and whereabouts of Kamron Taylor.
Taylor was being held in the Jerome Combs Detention Center awaiting sentencing in May for the June 2013 murder of Nelson Williams Jr. Authorities say he escaped from his cell about 3 a.m. Wednesday after beating a correctional officer and escaping in his uniform.
Chicago police captured Taylor, 23, of Pembroke Township in Kankakee County, in Chicago on Friday night. Kankakee circuit clerk employees said Monday that no new hearings had been set for Taylor, who had not yet been transferred to Kankakee County jurisdiction.
In Kankakee County court, Assistant State’s Attorney Scott Ahn said Grant had additional contact with Taylor that she “initially denied” but later acknowledged, prompting Grant’s attorney, Kenneth E. Wright, to object because Ahn’s statement was “not contained in the (charging) information and not part of the charging document.”
Ahn said Grant’s daughter had talked on the phone with Taylor “following the escape and the said defendant (Grant) was aware of the call.” Defending the recommendation for a $50,000 bail, Ahn said, “She did actively withhold information.”
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Wright countered by asking Judge Clark Erickson to release Grant, 50, on her own recognizance, citing her age and characterizing her as a “lifelong Kankakee resident.”
Noting that Grant is employed at the Indian Oaks residential treatment center, Wright said, “She is absolutely no flight risk.”
Erickson agreed with Ahn’s bail recommendation. Grant is scheduled to return to court April 28.
Obstruction of justice is a felony punishable by one to three years in prison, with a potential fine of up to $25,000. Judges have the option of granting probation.
A dozen of Grant’s friends and relatives attended Monday’s hearing. The quick conclusion of the arraignment appeared to be a relief to them; several hugged each other outside the courtroom, saying, “Thank you, Jesus!”
After talking with family members, Wright declined to discuss the case.
Asked if he thought $50,000 was unusually high bond, he responded, “I don’t set the amounts, I just try to get them lowered.”