A grieving mother was left ‘heartbroken’ after her husband’s suspected killer was released from prison due to a ‘typo’.
Amarion Sanders, 22, was being held on $1 million bond at the Cuyahoga County Jail in Ohio ahead of his trial in August for the September 2023 murder of Derek Driskill, 39.
But he was released Monday night after his case was “accidentally dismissed” in Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas documents — prompting multiple law enforcement agencies to scour the city of Cleveland and put him back behind bars. Fox8 reports.
“Unfortunately, due to the court’s typographical error, the suspect was released from the county jail where he was being held due to his failure to post bail,” a judge wrote in court documents.
Amarion Sanders, 22, was ‘accidentally’ released from prison on Monday evening
Sanders is accused of killing 39-year-old Derek Driskill in September over a fender bender
Court officials later explained that another case with a similar case number should have been dismissed instead.
“In this case, criminal cases with consecutive numbers…were randomly assigned to the same judge at arraignment, which is rare with 34 judges on the bench,” the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas said in a statement to Fox 8, noting “we deeply regret the mistake.’
“If the cases had been on different files, the system would have flagged the error when it was entered.”
Prison officials said they also didn’t realize there was a problem with the release order.
“Cases are being dismissed all the time, suspects are being released every day. There was no reason to question it,” said Deputy Director Kevin O’Donnell told Cleveland 19.
Instead, prosecutors didn’t notice the mistake until Tuesday morning and immediately alerted court officials.
Driskill’s wife said she doesn’t understand how the court could have made a mistake
But Andrea Johnson, Driskill’s wife, said she doesn’t understand how the court could make such a mistake.
“I honestly don’t understand how that happens,” she told Fox 8. “I understand that people make mistakes, but you would think that there would be more than one person going through something like that.”
She added that she did not think it was “fair” that her husband’s alleged killer was released.
“That’s not justice, it’s not making our family feel safe,” Johnson said. “I mean, he’s out on the street and he could do it to someone else.”
Driskill was shot in the head after being hit by a car in the parking lot of a takeaway restaurant
Johnson said her family did not feel safe with the alleged killer on the loose
Police have said Driskill was killed on September 23, 2023, in an altercation following a fender bender in the parking lot of a take-out restaurant.
A car rammed the back of his Mercedes Benz and although the driver cooperated, a passenger in the car got into an argument with Driskill and shot him in the head before fleeing, Fox 8 reports.
“Obviously I was heartbroken, but I thought he was going to be OK, but he passed away two days later,” Johnson said.
Sanders later turned himself in and was indicted on charges of aggravated murder, two counts of murder and two counts of assault. according to WKYC.
Sanders was taken back into custody Wednesday morning after being arrested during a morning traffic stop
Sanders was taken back into custody Wednesday after U.S. Marshals arrested him during a morning traffic stop. reports the News-Herald.
He will now be transported to the Cuyahoga County Corrections Center for booking and housing.
“He is no longer a threat and has never been a threat to society,” Interim Corrections Chief Nestor Rivera told Cleveland 19.
Both the court and prison officials say they will now do everything they can to ensure something like this doesn’t happen again.
The Cuyahoga County Court will review its procedures and work with the Sheriff’s Department, while Deputy Director O’Donnell said jail officials are “going to work collectively to try and – I don’t want to say correct – but take a close look at the process and make sure that this will never happen again.’