A murder suspect who was accidentally released from jail in Indianapolis two weeks ago was captured Wednesday by US Marshals nearly 600 miles away in Minnesota, police said.
Kevin Mason, 28, was collared around 1 p.m. in South St. Paul, announced Marion County Sheriff Kerry Forestal, who added that he is grateful to the Marshals Service “for concluding this manhunt and safely bringing Mason back into custody.”
Surveillance video led law enforcement officials to an apartment in the 1900 block of Summit Avenue, where they picked up the fugitive without incident, reported the channel WHAS11.
“The US Marshals attained a body-only search warrant for a South St. Paul residence in advance after information and surveillance led task force members to believe Mason was inside,” the Marshals Service said in a statement.
Mason, who was wanted for a 2021 killing in Minnesota, was arrested in Indianapolis on Sept. 11 — but he was released from jail just two days later because of a botched records review by clerks with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, officials have said.
Just hours after regaining his freedom, the accused killer left Indianapolis, it was later determined.
Last week, the sheriff’s office announced that the Marshals Service would be helming the search and was offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to Mason’s arrest.
Mason’s arrest earlier this month was on three warrants — including murder — from three different jurisdictions, the sheriff’s office said. He is accused of gunning down Dontevius Catchings, 29, in June 2021 outside a Minneapolis church after the funeral of a mutual friend.
Mason was able to walk free when an inmate records clerk committed a major error by removing two holds on his file because she mistook it for a duplicate booking, sheriff’s Col. James Martin said during a press conference.
The following day, another clerk in Minnesota failed to notice the error and lifted the final hold, clearing the way for Mason’s release.
“This was an error. This should have not happened. Mason should not have been released from our custody. This was discovered shortly after he was released,” Martin said.
Two Marion County Sheriff’s Office staffers have since been fired over the blunder.
The sheriff’s office kept Mason’s mistaken release under wraps for 6 days, supposedly to gain “a tactical advantage” over the runaway.
After he walked free from jail, Mason was picked up by his girlfriend, Desiree Oliver, who later bought a new phone and took her car to a shop for an oil change and tire repair, police said.
Oliver has since been charged with assisting a criminal — a felony count that carries a sentence of up to 6 years in prison, reported the station Fox59.
It’s unclear if the woman, who said she met Mason on Instagram 6 months ago and knew him by the name “Knowledge,” was aware of the seriousness of the charges against him when she went to pick him up in jail.
