Police: Man recaptured after wiggling out of handcuffs, escaping sheriff's squad car

A Romeoville man is held on $50,000 bail after briefly escaping police in Third Lake by wiggling out of handcuffs and squeezing through a small window in a police car Plexiglass safety shield, authorities said.

Salvador A. Leo, 25, of the 0-100 block of Arlington Drive, was charged with felony counts of escape and unlawful possession of a fraudulent prescription after being recaptured by Lake County sheriff's deputies about 4 p.m. Tuesday after about 90 minutes on the run, officials said. Leo is also charged with a misdemeanor count of resisting a peace officer, officials said.

The sheriff's office was called to a pharmacy in the 34300 block of North Route 45 at approximately 2:45 p.m. for a report of someone attempting to fraudulently acquire a prescription, authorities said in a news release.

A deputy arrived at the store and arrested Leo for presenting the pharmacy with a fraudulent prescription for a controlled substance, authorities said. The deputy handcuffed Leo, placed him in the back of a squad car, then went inside the store to speak with the pharmacist, authorities said.

Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Christopher Covelli said Leo forced his hands out of the handcuffs, then shoved himself through a small window in the Plexiglass shield that separates the back seat and front seat of squad cars.

After reaching the front seat, Leo opened the vehicle door and ran off, Covelli said.

The deputy was inside the store for 5 to 10 minutes, Covelli said. When he returned to the squad car, he noticed Leo was gone and called for assistance.

Police from the sheriff's office, and Gurnee, Grayslake, and the College of Lake County established a perimeter around the area to contain Leo, authorities said. Covelli also said an alert was issued over a police radio channel that someone posted on social media.

About an hour-and-a-half later, a resident of a nearby neighborhood saw a man matching Leo's description, and called police, Covelli said.

Deputies found Leo near the front of a residence on Seafarer Lane, authorities said. He tried to run, but authorities were able to quickly apprehend him without further incident.

Leo was transported to the Lake County jail where he was charged, Covelli said.

The incident is under administrative review by the sheriff's office, he said.