INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Indian River County Sheriff Deryl Loar Monday afternoon has a suggestion for the two murder suspects who escaped from jail – turn yourself in. Given the wide scale manhunt, the “alternative results will not be pleasant. My suggestion is they give up now.”
The Sheriff’s Office has reached out to the U.S. Marshals Service along with the Department of Homeland Security and other law enforcement agencies to search for convicted murderer Leviticus Taylor, 25, and accused murderer Rondell Reed, 51.
Authorities do not believe the men are traveling together.
Details are beginning to emerge pertaining to Taylor and Reed’s relationship and their escape.
Sheriff Loar said the men are considered dangerous, though it is not known if they have weapons.
“These are bad men,” he said, warning the public to not engage them if seen. Instead, the public is encouraged to call 911.
Taylor was recently convicted of murder in a case from 2009 in Vero Beach and “really has nothing to lose,” the sheriff said.
Sheriff Loar said the escape plan was “very time consuming” and entailed compromising vital parts of the jail’s structure, including two air conditioning units, three walls and two solid steel doors. There was also digging involved.
The walls the men scaled were topped with razor wire, which the men apparently used blankets or other material to cover and climb over. There was no indication that the men became injured during the escape.
“It’s simply amazing that it could have been done,” he said, adding that the men might have had help from outside the jail, as transportation was involved.
“It’s an embarrassment” to the Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Loar said of the jailbreak. He said his deputies and correctional officers work hard to secure the inmates.
“I take it to heart,” he said. “It frustrates me and makes me angry.”
The Sheriff’s Office is looking for an as-of-yet unidentified sedan believed to have been involved in the jailbreak.
Taylor and Reed were cellmates for about five days prior to the escape, according to Sheriff Loar. The men apparently had contact before becoming cellmates, though, he said.
The men were discovered missing around 4:30 a.m., between the 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. headcounts. Headcounts are done hourly.
Sheriff Loar said investigators were still working to determine if the men had been counted at 4 a.m.
Authorities no longer believe the men are still in the area, given physical evidence one of the men dropped during the escape, Sheriff Loar said. He did not elaborate on the evidence.
Investigators are reviewing hundreds of hours of surveillance videos and phone calls along with other details about the men.
So far, they have not found video of the escape.
“We are going to continue to look for that,” the sheriff said.
Sheriff Loar asked the public’s patience while authorities investigate and search for the men.
There is currently a $1,000 reward for information leading to the capture of each man.
Anyone with information is encouraged to call 911 or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-273-8477.
