Man back in Hennepin County Jail after being mistakenly released
MINNEAPOLIS — A Hennepin County man is back in jail nearly a week after he was mistakenly released just hours after being sentenced to years in prison on drug-related charges.
Timothy Wilson was sentenced to nearly six years in prison on Dec. 12. That same day, documents provided to WCCO show he was ordered to be released.
Wilson spent nearly a week out of jail before Minneapolis police re-arrested him without incident Thursday afternoon — still in the city.
In a statement to WCCO, Hennepin County District Court says it's continuing to investigate what went wrong that allowed Wilson to go free.
"Judge (Marta) Chou confirms that she sentenced the defendant to 68 months in prison, that she expected execution of the sentence to occur immediately, and that she did not order the defendant's release," the statement reads.
In a statement to WCCO, the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office says it was following the order of an e-court tab to release Wilson. The sheriff's office provided the document itself, which confirms the office's report.
"Per the Fourth Judicial District policy, the Hennepin County Jail utilizes an electronic court tab application (eCourt tab) that receives notifications from MNCIS to determine if a defendant is to remain in custody or to be released," a sheriff's office spokesperson said Friday. "The court indicates the next step for a detainee via an e-court tab. HCSO can not edit the e-court tab. It is the court staff transmitting their own judicial order."
"We are thankful that Wilson is back in custody," the office wrote.
