Linn County Jail inmate leaves for funeral, doesn't return

An inmate let out of the Linn County Jail to attend his grandfather's funeral has not returned, authorities said.

Jamal M. Baylis, 29, was released from jail Friday to attend the funeral in Chicago. He was ordered by the court to return back to jail at 5 p.m. Monday to resume serving his sentence, but he did not return.

Court records show Baylis has an extensive criminal history. He is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 28 on a first-degree robbery charge after he and another man allegedly used an air pistol to rob a man in Marion. After the incident, police chased the car Baylis was driving down Interstate 380 until he ran over stop sticks in Cedar Rapids, according to a police report.

Baylis was also awaiting trial after an arrest for possession of a controlled substance in late September.

Baylis is described as a black male, around 5-foot-11 and 170 pounds. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to call the Linn County Sheriff's Office at (319) 892-6100 or Cedar Rapids police at (319) 286-5491.