Georgia county jail officials panicked, going into lockdown when an inmate convicted of murder disappeared — only to realize more than 12 hours later that the missing man was still at the courthouse. Apparently, the cops forgot to retrieve him.
"There was a mix-up of who was going to take the inmate down, and ultimately, he was left inside the holding cell," explained Jonesboro's Clayton County Sheriff Levon Allen, via The Independent, after sheepish officers finally found Julian Brooks Deloach still waiting for them at the courthouse.
"They searched every cell, every area of the jail, searching for him," Allen continued. "Ultimately, by the time we reviewed cameras and backtracked and took us back into the courtroom where he was at, ultimately, of course, hours had passed." Twelve to thirteen hours, that is, where the gentleman was locked in a room with a bench, toilet and sink, but without a bed or supervision, according to WSBTV.
"There is no one actually monitoring that particular [holding] cell if there was a distress call," said Allen, who is reportedly "in the process of weeding out bad employees or saving the officers who can be retrained."
From The Independent:
For about 12 hours, Julian Brooks Deloach was missing from the county jail where he was on loan from the state prison due to a recent misdemeanor. Deloach, who was convicted of murder in 1984, was granted parole in 2010…
The courthouse is attached to the jail, and the holding cell is located in a secure area, but they're not intended to hold people overnight. …
As a result of the mix-up, Allen is suggesting that two correctional sergeants be demoted and two deputies assigned to the court division be suspended.
The sheriff told WSBTV that three of the officers had waived their rights to their hearings and accepted their punishment.
Previously: Suburban neighborhood on lockdown due to roaming hippopotamus (video)
