Killer En Route to Michigan Escapes at LAX

A convicted murderer being escorted to a Michigan prison escaped at Los Angeles International Airport on Tuesday after an Oakland County, Mich., sheriff’s deputy uncuffed the man so he could use the bathroom, authorities said.

Daniele Steven Scott, 27, was still at large late Tuesday. He had been serving time at the Lompoc Federal Penitentiary and was returning to Michigan to begin serving a sentence for murder, said Sgt. Stephany Payne of the Los Angeles Police Department.

Scott and two Michigan deputies took a commuter flight from Santa Barbara to LAX and were about to change planes for the trip to Michigan when Scott asked to use the toilet, Payne said.

One of the two deputies had stepped away, Payne said, and the other deputy removed the handcuffs from one of Scott’s wrists.

Scott then attacked the deputy, wrestled away the keys to his cuffs and ran off down the Terminal 2 corridor, Payne said.

More than 50 officers--both airport and Los Angeles police--scoured the terminals, parking structures, hotels and surrounding area to no avail, Payne said.

Scott, a 5-foot-9-inch, 180-pound African American, was wearing a light blue jail shirt and gray pants and was last seen running through the Terminal 2 parking structure.

“We consider this guy to be armed and dangerous,” Payne said. “When he escaped, he was not armed but he could have armed himself in the aftermath.”