Pro MMA fighter with three pending murder charges escapes from custody in Conroe

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas — Multiple law enforcement agencies in Texas are looking for an escaped prisoner who has three pending murder charges and is also a professional MMA fighter. 

The prisoner — 44-year-old Cedric Joseph Marks — escaped from Texas Prisoner Transport Service in Conroe Sunday around 7:30 a.m. near the 800 block of N. Loop 336 West.

Marks is considered extremely dangerous. Deputies said if you see him, please contact law enforcement immediately and do not approach him.

“Our primary concern is for the safety of our community. We have sent notifications to our citizens through multiple sources including emergency notification systems, media and social media, officials said. “As an abundance of caution, we urge those citizens in the north area of Conroe, between 105 and North Loop 336 to stay indoors and/or avoid the area.”

Background of charges against Marks

Marks was in the news in the days following the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend, Jenna Scott, and her friend Michael Swearingin. The two were last seen Jan. 4. Their bodies were found in the small town of Clearview, Oklahoma, south of Tulsa, Jan. 15.

Marks, who was once a trainer at Title Boxing in Killeen, is a suspect in their deaths, the Conroe Police Department confirmed in a press conference.

Marks was in transport from Grand Rapids Michigan to Bell County, Texas for a warrant for allegedly breaking into Scott’s home on Aug. 21. 

TJ Cruz, with the Bell County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office, said they were notified around 8 a.m. that Marks had escaped.

Two more women entered the scene when Marks’ wife, Ginell McDonough, and another woman, Maya Maxwell, were arrested in Muskegon County, Michigan on Jan. 11.

McDonough was charged with harboring Marks and Maxwell at her home between Jan. 5 and Jan. 9. During her arraignment Jan. 16, a judge set McDonough’s bond at $75,000 for harboring felons.

Maxwell proved to be the first direct connection to the disappearance of Scott and Swearingin.

According to a Temple arrest affidavit, Maxwell told detectives in a voluntary interview she took Swearingin’s vehicle to Austin in an attempt to hide it from law enforcement. The vehicle was found Jan. 6 in an area of Austin that Swearingin’s mother said her son would never go.

Maxwell was brought back to Bell County Jan. 29 and booked into the Bell County Jail on a $500,000 bond.

The circumstances surrounding the escape are currently under investigation including interviews with the transport company and other inmates on the transport van.

This story is developing and will be updated as more information is released.

Written by Abelina Tavera