Oklahoma Jail Inmate Being Transferred To Texas Escapes Near St. Louis

A prisoner transport van driver has been fired after East St. Louis Police search for an escaped fugitive who was being transported from Oklahoma to Texas on Monday.

Police told KMOV, the CBS affiliate in St. Louis,  the driver, who worked for Guard Force International, was transporting two prisoners. One of those prisoners was 33-year-old Brian Jordan who was charged with unauthorized use of a car in January of 2018 in Oklahoma.

Jordan was also wanted in Texas for a parole violation for possession of methamphetamine.

According to police, a stop at the Casino Queen in East St. Louis occurred early Monday morning while transporting the two prisoners. 

While waiting to hear from his manager, the prisoner transport driver allowed the two men to take a shower in a room at the hotel.  While the second man was in the shower, the guard reportedly fell asleep. Police say the driver did not have the fugitives properly restrained when he went to sleep. 

Gordon Brooks, CEO of Guard Force International, said he believes they went to the hotel at the Casino Queen and were not there to gamble.  Brooks said the driver violated protocol by staying at the hotel with inmates, which he said was "not normal." 

Brooks also said the van was in St. Louis after the driver dropped off inmates in St. Joseph, Missouri. The driver reportedly came to St. Louis to "meet up with another team" but that never happened, according to Brooks.