A manhunt is underway for a murder suspect erroneously released from a California jail last week, authorities said.
The U.S. Marshals Service and local authorities are searching for 20-year-old Isaiah Jamon Andrews of Kent, Washington, who was released last Wednesday from Martinez Detention Facility, about a 35-mile drive from San Francisco.
Andrews was being held on “local charges, a juvenile warrant out of Sacramento, and an out-of-state arrest warrant for homicide,” the Contra Costa County sheriff’s office said Monday when it revealed the accidental release. His mugshot can be found here.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Marshals Service told HuffPost on Wednesday that its team in California still has “nothing significant to report” and is “still looking for leads and more information on him.”
In its update, the sheriff’s office said an initial search confirmed that Andrews was no longer in the immediate area. Anyone with information is urged to call 911, or contact the sheriff’s office at 925-646-2441 or tips@so.cccounty.us. People can also call 866-846-3592 to leave an anonymous voice message.
The sheriff’s office did not immediately respond when asked for more details on the circumstances around Andrews’ release.
Seattle Police announced the suspect’s arrest last week, saying he was apprehended in Contra Costa County after law enforcement connected him to a fatal Oct. 15 shooting of another 20-year-old man in northern Seattle. Andrews was supposed to be extradited to Washington and booked on investigation of murder.
Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes told ABC 7 News that these errors happen.
“I think sometimes people forget that it is a criminal justice system,” he told the San Francisco Bay Area station. “Cops, courts and corrections is kind of how I always remember it. And although we did our due diligence, the courts and that part of the system however did not,” said
Erroneous inmate releases are not uncommon. Earlier this month, a Florida correctional facility unintentionally released a convicted murderer due to what authorities called a “procedural error.” Twice this year, a Houston detention facility has accidentally released inmates serving time for violent crimes. Similar incidents have unfolded in Oregon, Indiana and Pennsylvania in recent months.