Federal Escapee Caught
Fugitive Captured
(CBS) -- A federal prisoner who eluded authorities for more than two weeks after a daring escape from a Loop jail was caught Friday at a southwest suburban apartment complex, where he was trying to disguise himself as an older man.
Palos Hills police nabbed convicted bank robber Kenneth Conley, 38, after they received a phoned-in tip about a suspicious man on the grounds of an apartment complex at 103rd and 86th.
Police Chief Paul Madigan says Conley was wearing a beret and glasses and was using a cane.
"He was trying to give the illusion that he was an older man," Madigan told CBS 2's Mike Parker.
The fugitive allegedly punched a lieutenant and tried to flee, but he was chased down by additional officers. The lieutenant and Conley were taken to a local hospital for what were believed to be minor injuries.
Conley had a BB gun in his possession.
He first drew national attention Dec. 18 when he and a cellmate – Joseph "Jose" Banks, also a convicted bank robber – escaped from the Metropolitan Correctional Center. The men scaled 15 stories to the ground using tied bedsheets.
Banks was captured a few days later.
One resident of the Scenic Tree apartment complex where Conley was captured said FBI agents alerted tenants Friday about a potentially dangerous individual.
"They said he's armed and he should be considered dangerous," Chris Stevens told CBS 2's Mike Parker.
Conley's mother in Tinley Park declined to talk about the fugitive's capture.
The escape from the MCC has prompted federal authorities to take another look at security. There are still a lot of unanswered questions, including how the men got their hands on 200 feet of bed sheets, where they were stashed and who may have helped them.
