Escaped Ill. Inmates In Custody

The last two inmates who remained missing after six escaped from the Cook County Jail surrendered early Monday at the end of a long siege by a SWAT team and intermittent talks with police negotiators.

Eric Bernard, 22, of Chicago, is charged with armed robbery; Tyrone Everhart, 28, of Markham, is charged with aggravated kidnapping and attempting to escape from the Markham courthouse.

Before the two were brought out, reporters on the scene saw officers lead a woman in handcuffs from the besieged building. The last of the five children who had been in the apartment when the standoff began was led to safety.

Francisco Romero, 23, who is charged with murder, also was in the apartment, but he surrendered late Sunday and brought two young children out with him.

Two other inmates were captured Sunday about 7 miles from the jail in Oak Park. Another inmate was arrested Sunday evening, said Chicago police spokeswoman JoAnn Taylor.

The men escaped late Saturday from a special unit at Cook County Jail for inmates with disciplinary problems. One guard was on duty instead of two because of staffing shortages, said county Sheriff's Department spokesman Bill Cunningham.

One inmate threw hot water from a shower on the guard and held him at bay with a homemade knife, then handcuffed the guard and put on his uniform, officials said.

That inmate was caught after opening doors to let the other six inmates out. They got over a barbed wire fence and onto the streets.

It was the second jail break since Friday. An inmate facing armed robbery charges broke out Friday by apparently slipping into a laundry truck, but he was arrested Saturday at a suburban motel, authorities said.