QUAD CITIES (KWQC) - Police have captured Johnell Smith after nine days on the run following his escape from a Chicago program.

Smith, 18, was in Scott County Jail on Friday afternoon.

Smith was serving a 35-year sentence after being convicted of murder April 4. He escaped Nov. 12 from a program in Chicago, officials said.

Smith was convicted in the April 2023 killing of Danny Taylor, 17, during a home invasion in Milan.

A $5,000 reward was offered for Smith’s arrest, which was announced on KWQC’s Thursday Crime Stoppers segment .

Victim’s family in Quad Cities fears for safety as search for escaped murderer continues

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