Suspect's cousin charged with assisting criminal
December 24, 2020By The Associated Press
GARY — A cousin of a murder suspect who escaped from a security company’s transport van in northwest Indiana has been charged with assisting a criminal after authorities say he tried to collect money for his fugitive relative.
Antorries Brown, 22, posed as his cousin, Leon Taylor, while communicating with an undercover officer on Facebook and asked the officer to send him money so he could “make a move,” Lake County prosecutors said in a probable cause affidavit.
Taylor escaped on Dec. 14 in Gary from a van operated by REDI Transports of Green Bay, Wisconsin, as he was being extradited to Lake County from Texas.
A Lake County sheriff’s detective had created a fake Facebook account to investigate whether the 22-year-old Taylor had any outside help in avoiding arrest after his escape.
During that investigation, the location of the cellphone used in the Facebook communication was traced to a Gary residence. Brown was arrested there Dec. 18 after being found in possession of that phone, police said.
He appeared Tuesday for his initial hearing and a judge ordered him held on $50,000 bond. Brown has a court-appointed public defender, but online court records do not list the attorney's name.
Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr. said Tuesday that authorities are intensifying their effort to find Taylor, saying that “anyone who helps Taylor will be arrested and brought to justice."
According to court records, he is accused of working with a 14-year-old boy to kill a Chicago man, Daniel Nitzsche, 52, on Nov. 19 outside an East Chicago building Nitzsche co-owned, The (Northwest Indiana) Times has reported.
More on DuboisCountyHerald.com
-
County sees 9 new COVID-19 cases
The Indiana State Department of Health reported Thursday nine new COVID-19 cases in Dubois County. -
New chamber director devoted to people
Becky Hickman has always enjoyed helping people succeed by connecting them to resources. -
County records 8 new COVID-19 cases
The Indiana State Department of Health reported Wednesday eight new COVID-19 cases in Dubois County. -
County sees 5 COVID-19 deaths, 5 new cases
The Indiana State Department of Health reported Tuesday five new COVID-19 deaths in Dubois... -
Man injured in crash with stopped school bus
A Birdseye man was flown to an Evansville hospital with a head injury after his pickup truck... -
County sees 12 more COVID-19 cases
The Indiana State Department of Health has reported since Friday 12 new COVID-19 cases in Dubois... -
Former Herald photographer takes top award
Former Herald photographer Marlena Sloss was named 2020 Indiana Photographer of the Year this... -
Fire destroys several houseboats at Hoosier Hills Marina
A fire at the Hoosier Hills Marina at Patoka Lake engulfed nearly a dozen houseboats Friday...