Another inmate released by mistake in Bay Area
Prisoner, a San Mateo County auto burglar with ‘a serious past,’ had been sentenced to two years
For the second time in less than a month, a Bay Area inmate who had been sentenced to years behind bars was let go by mistake.
This time, the inmate was a San Mateo County auto burglar who had been sentenced to two years in state prison, said Salvador Zuno, a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office there.
The man, whose name was not made public, was released Oct. 9 because of a clerical error by an employee in the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office’s records unit, Zuno said.
That employee forwarded paperwork authorizing the inmate’s release to an Alameda County jail — where the man was being temporarily held — prompting deputies there to free him.
District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said Monday that the inmate is consid- ered dangerous, and his capture a pressing matter.
“He has a serious past,” Wagstaffe said, referring to the inmate’s criminal history.
A similar blunder occurred recently in Santa Clara County.
David Lopez, a convicted felon had just been sentenced to eight years in state prison for pistolwhipping his robbery victim, was accidentally freed Sept. 28 because of a clerical error.
Lopez, 31, spent seven days on the lam, including shopping at a popular East San Jose mall — and posting selfies of the trip on Instagram.
Jail officials didn’t realize he was missing until six days later because he was no longer listed as an inmate. Slightly more than 24 hours after they discovered he was missing, sheriff’s deputies who stayed up all night working on the case had nabbed him Oct. 5, at Rancho del Pueblo Golf Course in San Jose.
It was unclear Monday whether San Mateo County Sheriff’s deputies were actively searching for the auto burglar. Zuno said they put out a warrant for his arrest because he was “not considered dangerous,” belying the district attorney’s assessment.
Without an active search, the inmate could be picked up on the warrant in the course of a traffic stop, for instance, or while the man was “having coffee at Starbucks,” Zuno said.
However, Wagstaffe indicated that the effort to nab the inmate may be more extensive than Zuno implied.
Auto burglars typically don’t get prison terms unless there’s a violent crime in their history, Wagstaffe said.
Wagstaffe’s office was notified by Sheriff Carlos G. Bolanos or his staff of the mistake early last week, and prosecutors immediately sought a warrant from a judge.
This news organization learned about the release after receiving an anonymous copy of the all-points bulletin the sheriff put out.
At some point after the inmate was sentenced in San Mateo County court, federal marshals took him to court in Alameda County, then dropped him off at a local jail there. He was supposed to be picked up or transported back to San Mateo County. Instead, he was released based on the San Mateo County paperwork.
“We have immediately added additional steps in our procedures to avoid this situation from reoccurring” Zuno said.