The man who sparked a weeklong search last year after allegedly swapping identities with a fellow detainee so he could walk out of Cook County Jail pleaded guilty to two charges Thursday as prosecutors dismissed his escape case, records show.
Jahquez Scott, 22, pleaded guilty in a 2019 drug case and a 2020 gun charge and was sentenced to three years in prison on each, for a total of six years, records show. The escape case that grabbed headlines last year was dropped.
Scott’s alleged co-conspirator in the escape, Quintin Henderson, made a similar agreement last year, pleading to a drug case in exchange for the dismissal of charges of aiding and abetting an escape.
Their alleged scheme dated to early May 2020, when Scott is accused of persuading fellow detainee Henderson to use his name to walk out of jail.
Scott was on the lam for about a week before Cook County sheriff’s officials, with an assist from the FBI, found him in the bedroom of a residence in the Humboldt Park neighborhood, according to the sheriff’s office.
After his arrest, Scott pointed the finger at Henderson — saying the whole scheme was his idea, prosecutors said last year.
Scott was facing jail, having just been ordered held for a gun case, for violating bail bond on a pending drug case, and for violating parole on an aggravated battery to a peace officer conviction.
Henderson had been ordered released on his own recognizance. He later told authorities that Scott offered him $1,000 in exchange for using his identity to leave jail, according to prosecutors.
But after Scott was arrested, he said that the amount was just $500, and that Henderson was the one who approached Scott with the deal, prosecutors said.
After his arrest, Scott told authorities that he’d approached jail staffers when Henderson’s name was called, and participated in Henderson’s exit interview, according to prosecutors.
A surveillance camera captured the men’s interaction in a receiving tunnel at Cook County Jail where criminal defendants are processed into the jail or released from custody, authorities said.
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When a jail guard called out Henderson’s name, Scott stepped forward, identifying himself as Henderson, while the real Henderson stayed put, prosecutors have said. Scott allegedly used the real Henderson’s inmate number and signed release documents, and after retrieving Henderson’s personal property, Scott walked freely out of Cook County Jail.
In his booking photo last year, Scott has distinctive tattoos on both sides of his face. But he was wearing a mask when he used Henderson’s name to get out, according to the sheriff’s office.