FORT SMITH - Sebastian County sheriff’s deputies Monday arrested a jail inmate who was awaiting a transfer to state prison - four days after they mistakenly released him from jail.
Authorities arrested Charles Lamont Thompson, 41, of Fort Smith and a female companion about 3 p.m. Monday.
The sheriff’s office is still investigating how the mistake happened, said Investigator Philip Pevehouse, a sheriff’s office spokesman.
But last week two men, both more than 6 feet tall and with the last name of “Thompson,” were held in the Sebastian County jail.
Jailers were told to release the younger Thompson, 31, who had served his time for failure to pay a fine, Pevehouse said.
Somehow, jail staff freed Charles Thompson, who has a string of convictions that include drug and sex crimes, according to Arkansas Department of Correction records.
Charles Thompson had been sentenced to 120 months in prison Nov. 27 and wouldn’t have been eligible for parole until at least July 2015, prison records show.
“We take this very seriously,” Pevehouse said. “We know the public has entrusted us. The sheriff [Bill Hollenbeck] is going to take swift and sure action to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
The sheriff’s office hasn’t given the first name of the man who was supposed to be released Thursday but said it’s similar to that of the incorrectly freed inmate.
“Same last name, first name was very close,” Pevehouse said. Both men’s first names “started with a ‘Ch,’” he said.
The Sebastian County jail has a series of safety checks designed to prevent releasing the wrong person. Among the tests is one that asks the inmate a personal question.
“We ask a specific question only that person would know - something like, ‘What is your mother’s maiden name?’” Pevehouse said. “You’ll also look at the person and compare themversus the picture you have.”
One of the issues that tripped up jailers Thursday was that the two Thompsons were cousins and had a strong resemblance, he said. The man who was supposed to be released is 6 feet 2 inches tall. Charles Lamont Thompson is 6 feet 4 inches tall.
“We’re still investigating,” Pevehouse said. “But right now, it appears that all the redundant safety checks weren’t followed.”
No sheriff’s office employees have been suspended so far, he said. The mistake was discovered about 6 p.m. Thursday during a routine roll call.
Jails and prisons occasionally release the wrong prisoner, news accounts and other records show.
Saline County jail workers mistakenly released Robert Ellis of Mabelvale in March. The 31-year-old was sentenced to a month in jail on a probation violation-fleeing charge. Jailers had intended to release a man named Brandon Ellis.
Saline County sheriff’s office spokesman Lt. Scott Courtney said then that it had been about a year since his facility had made a similar mistake, but such errors do happen.
“There is supposed to be several checks and balances in there, and unfortunately, everybody’s human, everybody makes mistakes, and the checks and balances didn’t work,” Courtney said then.
The Sebastian County jail also is near its 356-bed capacity, Pevehouse said Monday. Crowding can raise the chances of confusion and mistakes.
More than 200 of the jail’s inmates are on wait lists to be transferred to a state prison facility, just as Charles Thompson was, Pevehouse said.
The wrongly released man’s most recent trouble with the law was this fall when he was arrested for failing to comply with a court-ordered registration.
The Sebastian County sheriff’s office had about 10 officers searching for Charles Thompson on Monday.
After they found him, according to a news release, authorities added a new charge - felon in possession of drug paraphernalia.
Arkansas, Pages 16 on 12/24/2013