TEMPLE, Texas — It has been six months since accused killer Cedric Marks escaped from a Texas Prisoner Transportation Services van. Now, a former transport agent with the company is speaking.
Marks is facing the death penalty after being charged with killing his ex-girlfriend Jenna Scott and her friend Michael Swearingin in January.
Ray Kirwan said there were many mistakes made the day Marks escaped from their van in Conroe.
"When they picked him up and put him on that van he should have never gone anywhere but to Bell County," Kirwan said.
Marks was being transported from Michigan to Texas in connection with the deaths of Scott and Swearingin.
The day before agents picked up Marks, Kirwan said the agents called him to ask if they should transport Marks.
"We heard he was accused of two murders, maybe three,” Kirwan said. "And they were going to have to put him in a van with nine other inmates. I said that wasn’t a good idea because he made all kind of threats.”
Kirwan said the agents were told by management to put what's called a black box over Marks' handcuffs for extra security. When they stopped at McDonald's, one of the agents opened the back door so the inmates could get some fresh air and Marks saw his opportunity to escape, Kirwan said.
"All he had to do was kick the gate and it came open. He simply stepped out and walked away,” Kirwan said. “It was that simple. There was no Houdini move to it, just junk equipment and a pickup that shouldn’t have been made."
Kirwan said the agent put himself in a sticky situation.
“Once that door got open, chasing Cedric Marks down would have left the door wide open for the other nine to run off,” Kirwan said.
He's hoping the transport company will update their safety policies. After Marks escaped the company closed and is now owned by Prisoner Transportation Service in Nashville.
Channel 6 Reached out to their company multiple times, but our calls went unanswered.
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