Police Search For 'Desperate' Prisoner

Harold McCord Jr., 36, of Tacoma, described as desperate and dangerous, remained at large Tuesday morning.

With convictions for robbery, harassment, assault and kidnapping, he was sentenced recently to a life term under Washington state's "three strikes" law, sheriff's spokeswoman Lauren Pawlawski said.

"We're concerned that he's desperate because obviously, at this point, he doesn't have a lot to lose since he is facing life in prison without the chance of parole," she said. "He's very dangerous because he has threatened our corrections officers."

Deputies were contacting relatives and victims and asking that anyone who sees him call 911.

McCord is described as black, 6-foot-1, 190 pounds, with a shaved head. He was wearing a white T-shirt and gray jail pants.

A $1,000 reward was offered through Crimestoppers.

McCord's handcuffs and shackles were removed while he was in court Monday for a motion hearing for a trial on three counts of second-degree assault and unlawful possession of a firearm.

"That was the opportunity he saw to flee and pull out this weapon he had manufactured," Pawlawski said.

He ran from the courtroom and was tackled by a guard. As they were fighting, he pulled out what appeared to be a handgun and threatened the guard.

"Two other officers who were several yards away saw the incident happen and lowered their weapons. At this point the suspect fled through the building, exiting the building and ran several blocks," removing his gray jail T-shirt, Pawlawski said.

"The guys had to make a decision," sheriff's Detective Ed Troyer said, "and they made the decision not to get a correctional officer killed. ... They could have shot him, and then we'd be sitting there with a dead inmate with a paper gun in his hand."

McCord tried to hijack one vehicle, but that driver drove away.

The next driver got out and the inmate drove away in his pickup truck, which was found parked near the Tacoma Mall about three miles away.

The fake gun, designed to look like a .25-caliber semiautomatic handgun, was found in the road, officials said. It was made of cardboard from the backing of legal paper pads. Toilet paper was used as stuffing and the model was covered with

newspaper blackened with ink from a ballpoint pen. The tube of the pen served as the barrel.

"It's unbelievable. We held them side by side and they looked exactly alike," Pawlawski said. "I could stand 10 feet away, and if I saw somebody holding it I would think it was a gun."

At closer range, however, it didn't fool Gary Osbourne, the first driver McCord he encountered. Osbourne said he was in his truck near the county jail when a man threatened to shoot him unless he got out.

"He was desperate. He was nervous. He wanted my car. He was scared and so was I," Osbourne told KIRO-TV. "He said, 'Get out of the car, I'm going to pop you."'

Osbourne told KIRO-TV of Seattle he could see the gun was made from paper, so he replied, "You're not going to take my car. That's not even a real gun."

McCord was convicted in May of first-degree kidnapping, felony harassment and resisting arrest. Investigators said he accosted his ex-girlfriend at a bus stop, slammed her into a fence, kicked and choked her, then forced her into his vehicle.

With previous convictions for two counts of second-degree robbery in 1988 and five counts of first-degree robbery in 1991, he was sentenced to life in prison.

The man, identified as 36-year-old Harold McCord, shed his jail clothes and hijacked a blue pickup truck, said Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer.

Harold McCord weighs 190 pounds. He's a 6-foot-1 black male with a shaved head. He was wearing a white T-shirt and gray pants.