Suspect released from jail in error

A man arrested by police in a drive-by shooting last week should have been in jail but had been released because of a record-keeping error, authorities acknowledged Tuesday.

The paperwork directing Spokane County Jail staff to keep Jaycee Carrywater, 23, behind bars arrived on time, officials said, but was filed incorrectly. A jail employee reportedly assumed the warrant was for an incoming suspect, not someone already in the jail.

“Obviously there was a mistake made,” Spokane County Jail Commander Jerry Brady said Tuesday. “I’m meeting with senior staff to figure out how this can be avoided in the future.”

In addition to checking whether Carrywater was already in custody, officials should have forwarded the warrant to Carrywater’s cell block unit to be served on him by jail staff, and jail releasing officers should have been contacted to prevent him from being released at 5 p.m., Brady said. “That did not happen.”

No jail employees are being disciplined as a result of the error, Brady said. But the mistake has prompted staff sergeants to remind all employees to be more cautious.

Carrywater was arrested on several outstanding warrants Jan. 4 and was booked into the Spokane County Jail, Sheriff’s Office spokesman Cpl. Dave Reagan said. Carrywater was due to be released at 5 p.m. Jan. 9 if the appropriate documents were not filed within the 72-hour time period.

He was released for “paperwork not filed,” even though it had been time-stamped at 3:12 p.m., Reagan said. Inmates are often released when the necessary charging documents from prosecutors fail to arrive within 72 hours of their apprehension.

In fact, more than 400 suspected criminals were released in 2005 for that reason, officials said.

The releasing staff saw nothing out of the ordinary in Carrywater’s case, Reagan said.

Jail officials didn’t realize there was an error until Carrywater was booked back into the jail in connection with a shooting three days later.

Carrywater was charged with first-degree attempted murder in a Jan. 12 drive-by shooting at North Crestline and East Rowan. He is accused of firing multiple shots, striking a 25-year-old Spokane man once in the groin.

Carrywater was being held at Spokane County Jail on $750,000 bail for the attempted murder charge, jail officials said Tuesday. He has an additional bail amount of $50,000 for first-degree theft, possession of a controlled substance and vehicular hit and run from a previous case.

An inmate being mistakenly released from Spokane County Jail is uncommon, said Brady, who has been jail commander since March 2005. But it wouldn’t be surprising if it has happened before, just based on the sheer volume of suspected criminals who come and go from the jail.

In 2005, staff booked 18,996 inmates in and 18,539 inmates out of the jail.

“However, this is the first time something like this has happened since I’ve been here,” Brady said.