Inmate accidentally released from jail turns himself in
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — An inmate accidentally released from the San Francisco County Jail earlier this week has turned himself in. Victor Rodriguez was taken to the sheriff’s station around 8:54 a.m. Saturday.
He turned himself in with the support of his family. No further information was available immediately.
He spoke with KRON reporter Philippe Djegal before he turned himself in.
“They made a mistake, and now, they’re making me look like I’m a monster,” 21-year-old Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez, who shortly after watching KRON’s coverage of his mistaken release from the San Francisco County Jail, wanted to make it clear, by phone, that he knows he should still be behind bars.
“They shouldn’t have released me, and I even told them, like, ‘I don’t think I’m supposed to get out,’ and they were like, ‘No, you gotta go home today.’ I’m like, ‘Alright, well, I’ll leave,’ Rodriguez said.
On Wednesday, at a hearing in San Francisco Superior Court, Rodriguez faced two charges related to making criminal threats to law enforcement.
One charge was upheld.
The judge is sentencing Rodriguez to three months in jail. But the second charge was dismissed.
“Unfortunately, the court clerk made an error when she entered this information on the paperwork that goes to us,” Rodriguez said. “So, when we received the paperwork, it indicated that all charges were dismissed.”
Eileen Hirst speaks for the San Francisco Sheriffs Department, which manages the jail. She said her department was simply adhering to what it said on paper.
The court issued a statement saying, “The court is looking into the circumstances surrounding the clerical error.”
San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi doesn’t represent Rodriguez but has extensive experience with the court.
He said mistakes like these have happened before.
“Ironically, what happens most often is that people are erroneously kept in custody because of a clerical error, and as a defense attorney, that drives you crazy because your client should be released and they’re not,” Adachi said.