Hunt For One Fugitive Continues As Prosecutors Drop Escape Charges Against The Other

By Samantha Abernethy in News on Jan 3, 2013 10:50PM

The FBI has released new photos of one of the two inmates who escaped from the downtown federal prison, Kenneth Conley, in an effort to catch the convicted bank robber, who remains at large. Photos of Conley's tattoo and scars were added to the fugitive's "Wanted" poster website. The FBI is still offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.

In the meantime, prosecutors have dropped escape charges against the other fugitive, Jose Banks, who was captured in Chicago less than three days after the escape. According to the Associated Press, Banks already faces up to 80 years in prison for his previous bank robbery conviction, and prosecutors say they're just going to use Banks' escape to argue for a stiffer sentence.

Conley and Banks escaped from the downtown high-rise Metropolitan Correctional Center at some point on the morning of Dec. 18. The two fugitives created a makeshift rope out of bedsheets and shimmied down 17 stories.

Banks, aka the Secondhand Bandit, had just been convicted of robbing four banks, and his cellmate Conley pleaded guilty in October to robbing a bank. Conley was caught when he flaunted his loot at a strip club. Banks was known for his crazy crime costumes. Authorities say Banks was also an aspiring fashion designer, and he may have used his sewing to make his escape.

On the day of the escape, authorities stormed Conley's mother's home in Tinley Park. A family in Hazel Crest said police shot and killed their dog while searching the area for Conley on Christmas Eve. Banks was caught a on Dec. 20 in a house on the North Side of Chicago, just five miles from the prison.