KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Three Jackson County jail workers have received unspecified discipline after a murder suspect was mistakenly released from custody.
Joseph Piccinini, the county’s corrections director, said in a statement that clerical errors by jail employees were blamed for the Feb. 17 release of 26-year-old Malcolm D. Johnson, The Kansas City Star reported (https://bit.ly/1pUk7R8 ).
Johnson was being held in connection on charges of second-degree murder and armed criminal action in connection with a 2014 shooting death of 22-year-old Monteario Hogan in the suburb of Raytown. Johnson remains at large.
Piccinini said Johnson’s release happened after prosecutors dropped and then refiled charges in routine procedural action. Piccinini says those actions should not have triggered Johnson’s release.
Jail officials “did have the proper paperwork on file at the time of the release, and several associates had access to that file,” Piccinini said.
County officials have not publicly detailed the disciplinary actions against the employees, though one of them no longer works at the jail.
Piccinini said the jail has revised its policies and procedures related to the release of inmates “to ensure such a release cannot happen in the future.”
“We understand the concerns of the family of the victim, and those of our residents, and we apologize to them,” he said. “We will continue to work with law enforcement to help in any way with the arrest of Mr. Johnson.”
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Information from: The Kansas City Star, https://www.kcstar.com
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