State's attorney's procedures for moving prisoners under fire

Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez on Friday promised a full review of how Robert Maday overpowered two armed investigators and escaped on a carjacking and robbery spree, even as questions swirl about her office's policies for transporting dangerous prisoners.

Experts interviewed by the Daily Herald said it's unusual for personnel from a state's attorney's office to have responsibility for moving violent criminals and the procedures used by the department weren't the norm.

Chaos erupted in the back seat of the car taking Maday on the long trip from jail in Kankakee to Cook County court Thursday, leading to Maday's escape and a two-day manhunt, sparking fear throughout the suburbs. It ended when the convicted bank robber crashed a stolen car in West Chicago Friday.

Maday was seated in the back of the car, handcuffed and shackled at the ankles, Thursday morning. Because the vehicle did not have a barrier between the front and rear seats, an armed officer sat in the back with him.

Somehow, authorities said, Maday grabbed the investigator's weapon and forced the driver to pull into a Rolling Meadows shopping center. He fled with the officers' weapons and some money and stole a shopper's car.

Calling the escape "a serious breach of security," Alvarez said an internal investigation was under way and noted that the investigators had been suspended for violating office policies. Her statement did not include further details, and calls to her office to learn more about what rules were broken were not returned.

The officers who were escorting Maday are in their 50s and 60s, sources said. Maday, 39, an Elk Grove Village native, has a history of robbery, kidnapping, battery and resisting police.

"I can't speak for how other departments transfer their suspects," said Kim Widup of the U.S. marshal's office. "I know how we will transport him, and he will not get away."

In Lake County, prisoners are transported by sheriff's officers in vehicles with barriers and police do not sit in the back with them, said Sheriff Mark Curran Jr., a former prosecutor. Police are equipped with pepper spray and they radio into their headquarters every 30 minutes.

"When someone's in reach of a weapon, who knows what could transpire," Curran said. "There's a bunch of scenarios that could happen - all of them bad."

When the Cook County sheriff's department escorts a felon with a history of violence like Maday, the prisoner is in a vehicle with a barrier and is wearing shackles, handcuffs and - as an extra precaution - a chain around his waist attached to the handcuffs to impair movement, spokesman Steve Patterson said.

"That's not to say it will never happen to us, but we feel like we take appropriate safeguards to make sure something like that will not happen," Patterson said. "We move around about 1,000 people a day. We recognize someone might try something at any minute."

In comparison, Alvarez said her office transports 300 prisoners a year and has never had any incidents until now.

DuPage State's Attorney Joseph Birkett said in general his office uses county sheriff's police to transport prisoners.

But "despite the fact we're greatly advanced in terms of penology and safety, escapes happen," Birkett said. "Paul Runge the serial killer escaped. Every time something like this happens, you break it down, you study it and how to do better in future. Thank God, there was no other loss of life and the only person injured is the defendant."

Convicted serial killer Runge escaped in a van taking him from Sheridan Correctional Center to Cook County court in 2000, but a Naperville police officer arrested him hours later.

Before Runge, Hanover Park couple Jeffrey and Jill Erickson are believed to have robbed eight banks in Chicago and the suburbs in the early 1990s. Jill Erickson shot herself after a car chase and gunfight with police in 1991. Her husband was caught and killed two federal officers and himself during an escape attempt in 1992.

Psychological experts say Maday's history makes his escape understandable. He once vowed he would do anything - "crawl if I have to" - to avoid prison.

James Janik, retired chief psychologist for the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center, said Maday appears to be "a self-centered guy who has learned to bully people and use violence to get what he wants. He certainly experienced the procedure of being transported in a number of cases and would know from experience when there are opportunities."

Retired FBI agent and profiler Bob Scigalski said Maday's behavior suggests "a psychopath, someone who seeks excitement through violence."

"That lack of conscience is replaced by excitement and violence. It becomes his oxygen," said Scigalski, who runs a private investigation firm in Schaumburg.

Scigalski also credits Maday with smarts.

"Bank robbery, that's not an easy crime to pull off," he said. "There's a lot of thought that goes into it. Whatever took place (Thursday), the fact is, in order to pull that off, this guy had to have incredible social skills."

The officers "didn't see him as the potential threat that he became," he said.

State Sen. John Millner, former Elmhurst police chief, said Maday might have tried a charm offensive, attempting to get some leniency from his captors.

"In my opinion, he probably acted very cooperative and very nice. He developed a rapport and they let their guard down," he said.

Curran said the incident recalls a police truism. "That's why there's no such thing a routine traffic stop. You learn to expect the unexpected," he said. "These are volatile human beings with no regard to the value of human life."