U.S. Marshals offering reward for released murder suspect

Police are looking for Kevin Mason, a 28-year-old murder suspect whom authorities accidentally released from a detention center in Indianapolis last week. The U.S. Marshals Service is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to his capture. Before his arrest, Mason was wanted for questioning in connection with a 2021 shooting in Minneapolis.

How did prison staff make this mistake? A Marion County sheriff’s clerk thought she was correcting duplicate bookings for Mason and removed two holds in his file, sheriff’s Col. James Martin said. One day later, a Minnesota clerk lifted the final hold in Mason’s file and did not catch the previous error. Authorities say they kept Mason’s accidental release quiet for six days in order to have a “tactical advantage” in finding him.

Dig deeper: Read Lauren Dunn’s article in Schooled on inadequacies in juvenile justice facility education programs.