A Chicago man was arrested on Monday for allegedly cutting off his electric monitoring bracelet before driving to Iowa and attempting to murder two people, CWB Chicago reported.
Tavon Baylock, 23, was serving jail time for felony weapon and obstruction of justice charges but was later released and placed in the Cook County electric monitoring program.
However, in March, authorities responded to his home after receiving an alert that activity had been occurring with his monitoring bracelet. Baylock was not there when they arrived, but his brother handed them the bracelet and told them Baylock wanted them to have it.
Investigators now believe that at some point while Baylock was on the run, he drove to Dubuque, Iowa, and allegedly directed gunfire toward two men near a daycare center on June 23.
Iowas authorities then issued an arrest warrant for Baylock on charges of attempted murder, intimidation with a dangerous weapon, reckless use of a firearm, and other counts, CWB Chicago noted.
Investigators later discovered that the vehicle that Baylock had driven to the shooting was registered to a woman in Calumet City, Illinois.
On Monday, U.S. Marshals were staking out the woman’s home before they saw Baylcok exit and drive away in a vehicle.
“He sped from officers, ran more than 25 stop signs, struck a sheriff’s police squad car, and continued to drive until the vehicle became inoperable,” according to Assistant State’s Attorney Danny Hanichak. A loaded handgun was allegedly discovered under the driver’s seat after he was arrested.
On Tuesday, a judge set Baylock’s bail at $500,000 for violating his bond conditions on his felony gun case, and on Wednesday, another judge set his bail at $600,000 for the escape charges. He is also being held without bail for the arrest warrant issued in Iowa.
Cook County sheriff’s Investigator Frank Anson places an electronic monitoring device on a detainee before he is released inside the electronic monitoring discharge facility at the Cook County Jail on April 12, 2018. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Before serving jail time for his felony weapons charge, Baylock had already been convicted for threatening to kill a Chicago police officer during a Facebook live stream in 2019. He subsequently received a four-year sentence, which was later resolved.
Crime in Democrat-controlled Chicago and Illinois has skyrocketed over the past year and may increase more next year when the SAFE-T Act is implemented, which will get rid of cash bail in the state.
The Republican candidate for Illinois’s gubernatorial race, Darren Bailey, was among those who voiced strong opposition to the legislation; however, he was defeated on Tuesday by incumbent Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a supporter of the SAFE-T Act.
You can follow Ethan Letkeman on Twitter at @EthanLetkeman.
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