Photo: Marion County Sheriff's Office
A murder suspect spent just two days behind bars before a clerical error resulted in his release. After two years on the run, 28-year-old Kevin Mason was arrested on September 11 by police in Indiana on three warrants out of Minnesota.
In addition to the second-degree murder charge, Mason was also wanted on firearms charges and for violating his parole.
While Mason was awaiting extradition to Minnesota, a records clerk inadvertently removed two of the holds that were keeping Mason locked up.
"On September 12, one of our inmate records clerks thought she was correcting different bookings for Mr. Mason. She removed two of the holds, leaving one additional hold for Mr. Mason. The next day on September 13, Ramsey County, out of Minnesota, lifted the last and final hold that we had booked on for Mr. Mason," Colonel James Martin with the Marion County Sheriff's Office said during a press conference on Tuesday (September 20).
With the holds removed, Mason was free to go. He was released from prison before officials realized their mistake.
"This was an error. This should not have happened. Mason should not have been released from our custody," Martin added.
Instead of alerting the public that Mason was on the run, officials decided to keep word of his release quiet. Martin defended the decision, saying they didn't want Mason to know he was the subject of a manhunt. He also said that Mason is not a threat to the public.
Investigators believe that Mason is still in Indianapolis and is being helped by somebody in the area.
Officials said that the two record clerks responsible for Mason's release have been fired.