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Cedric Marks booked into Bell County Jail after escaping from officials for over nine hours

Posted at 9:45 AM, Feb 03, 2019
and last updated 2019-05-13 12:38:07-04

Officials say Cedric Marks has been apprehended, hours after his initial escape. 

Marks was being extradited back to Bell County to face burglary charges connected to his ex-girlfriend Jenna Scott.

Marks was booked into the Bell County Jail just after 11 p.m. Sunday. He has been charged with capital murder of multiple persons. Marks is being held on bonds totaling more than $1.75 million.

He was transported by the Bell County Sheriff's office and the Lonestar U.S. Marshal task force after he was captured in Conroe.

Temple police said Scott filed a protective order against Marks in July 2018, months before she went missing. Scott’s body was discovered along with the remains of her friend, Michael Swearingin, in Oklahoma on Jan. 15.

Marks escaped police custody in the 800 block of N. Loop 336 West in Conroe, just north of Houston after 7 a.m. Sunday. He was being transported by private company Texas Prisoner Transport Services when they stopped for food. 

Marks was wearing an orange jumpsuit and restraints. He wasn't wearing a shirt, as law enforcement found it after he fled. 

Marks was being transported from Grand Rapids, Michigan and the transport made a stop in Louisiana. 

Marks was recaptured by law enforcement Sunday afternoon. 

Law enforcement found Marks hiding in a trash can at a Conroe home. 

All the prisoners in the transport, as well as the guards, are being interviewed at this time. 

Marks' connection to Scott, Swearingin disappearance

According to the arrest affidavit, Marks broke into Scott's home and threatened her on Aug. 21, 2018. During this time, Scott told both Marks and Scott had open investigations against each other for assault-family violence crimes in Killeen.

When Scott went to investigate a sound in her home, she found Marks. She told police he was not supposed to be there and had no consent to be inside her home. She also said she had her phone in her hand, and Marks took it from her and threw it. She yelled for her daughter to call 911, and he told her to make her daughter hang up the phone. 

The affidavitsaid that he told Scott "you know what I am capable of... your entire family and all of your friends will need witness protection if you call the police."

The protective order says Scott and Cedric Marks began dating in August of 2015. The pair met through Tinder, an online dating app. Court records say Marks threatened Scott every time she attempted to end the relationship. It says he choked her on two occasions, causing her to pass out.

Another woman tied to Marks was extradited back to Bell County in connection to the Scott-Swearingin disappearance. 

Maya Maxwell, 26, was arrested and charged after she told police that she tried to hide Swearingin's car in the Austin area after his disappearance. 

On Sunday morning the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office said that Marks was wanted for the Scott and Swearingin murders. 

"Hurry up and get him back to Bell County...pray for swift justice," said Debbie Swearingin, Michael's mother. 

The transport 

Texas Prisoner Transport Services was transporting Marks along with several other prisoners when he escaped. Two guards and nine other inmates were in the transport at the time. 

Texas Prisoner Transport Services has contracts with several Central Texas departments, including Bell County, McLennan County and Hill County. 

The company is based in Taylor, Texas, located in Williamson County. The company has 15 vans. 

With Hill County, the company has had a contract with the department for 60 days. The company uses Hill County as a housing service for inmates and stays usually range from four hours to two days. 

The company is now set to close after the escape from Marks, according to KTRK. However, it is not clear why the Texas Prisoner Transport Services shut their doors. 

The two drivers are now under investigation after Marks' escape.

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District attorney: Ex-boyfriend of Temple woman to be extradited to Texas

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+ Police: Temple missing woman's ex-boyfriend connected to another woman's disappearance
Medical examiner positively identifies bodies found in Oklahoma as Jenna Scott, Michael Swearingin

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