Man Flees Courthouse During Hearing, Goes Home, Gets Arrested

WAUKEGAN, IL — A Wisconsin man who escaped from officers trying to take him into custody following a hearing at the Lake County Courthouse Wednesday morning was taken into custody at his home in the afternoon by members of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Marshals Service, authorities said.

Isiah J. Jarrett, 33, of the 5000 block of Graceland Boulevard in Mt. Pleasant, had shown up to court in Waukegan voluntarily around 11 a.m. for a hearing on a charge of aggravated driving under the influence case, according to the sheriff's office.

Jarrett had been arrested by Gurnee police in January and charged with felony driving under the influence of drugs and cited for operating an uninsured motor vehicle, running a stoplight and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, according to court records.

During his hearing Wednesday, a judge increased Jarrett's bail to $50,000 due to the results of a drug screening, according to the sheriff's office. A court security officer began to take him into custody to process him at Lake County Jail.

But Jarrett resisted arrest, pushing away from the officer and running out of the courtroom, the sheriff's office said in a release. He ran down a stairwell and out a door on the ground level and got into an awaiting silver 2008 Chevrolet Uplander before it fled the area.

Members of a courthouse emergency response team found the vehicle near the intersection of Route 120 and Green Bay Road and pulled it over, but Jarrett was no longer inside, according to the sheriff's office. Investigators have not determined the driver's level of involvement in Jarrett's escape.

In a warrant issued Wednesday afternoon, Jarett was charged with escape of a felon from a penal institution. The sheriff's office said he had been about to be taken to Lake County Jail at the point he took off running.

Jarrett was arrested at his home around 3:30 p.m. The sheriff's office said he had tried to barricade his front door by putting items behind it. He was taken to Racine County Jail pending extradition back to Lake County.