KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Cass County Sheriff’s Department says a search is underway to locate two inmates that escaped from the county jail Monday night.
The search continued Tuesday afternoon as U.S. Marshals, the FBI, the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department and the sheriff's department all worked to locate the two inmates.
A U.S. Marshals spokesperson told KSHB 41 reporter Megan Abundis there are "lots of people looking for these guys."
As part of the effort, the U.S. Marshals is offering a $5,000 reward for each individual for tips that lead to their capture.
The spokesperson downplayed the threat to the public.
A Cass County Sheriff's spokesperson said Trevor Scott Sparks, 33, of Kansas City, Missouri, and Sergio Perez-Martinez, of Panorama City, California, escaped Monday night from the county jail at 2501 W. Mechanic St., in Harrisonville.
Sparks was in custody on money laundering charges. Perez-Martinez was in custody on drug possession.
According to federal court records, a jury found Sparks guilty last month to conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, possession of 22 firearms of various types in furtherance of drug trafficking and possession of 22 firearms of various types as a felon. Sentencing information for Sparks was not immediately available.
Federal court records also detail the situation of Perez-Martinez, who entered a plea agreement with federal prosecutors in July 2022. In the agreement, he plead guilty to conspiracy to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine and conspiracy to commit money laundering. No sentencing information was available for Perez-Martinez.
A spokesperson with the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Western District of Missouri couldn't comment specifically on the cases of Sparks and Perez-Martinez. The spokesperson said however that it is not at all uncommon for federal defendants awaiting sentencing to be held in a county jail. In those scenarios, the defendants are under the custody of the U.S. Marshals, which contracts with the county agency in charge of the jail.
"It's very uncommon to have a prisoner escape from a jail," the U.S. Marshals spokesperson said.
—
For jurisdictions that utilize the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers Tips Hotline, anonymous tips can be made by calling 816-474-TIPS (8477), submitting the tip online or through the free mobile app at P3Tips.com.
Annual homicide details and data for the Kansas City area are available through the KSHB 41 News Homicide Tracker, which was launched in 2015. Read the KSHB 41 News Mug Shot Policy.
