March 15--The Fresno County Jail mistakenly released two inmates this month.
Deputies are looking for Paul Richard Prieto, 25, of Dinuba, who had been jailed on robbery and gang charges. Timothy James Van, 35, of Fresno, who had been jailed on domestic violence charges, was located late Wednesday night and returned to the jail.
Prieto was mistakenly released March 5, when jail staff received court paperwork to release another inmate with the same last name, the sheriff's office said.
Jail staff didn't realize their error until Tuesday, when the District Attorney's Office contacted the jail asking about the inmate, Assistant Sheriff Tom Gattie said.
Van was mistakenly released from the jail Tuesday morning, shortly after 9 a.m. He was supposed to have been released to a Poverello House program. Late Wednesday night, deputies found Van at Poverello House. He was returned to the jail to be re-processed.
In a statement, Sheriff Margaret Mims said the releases appear to be the result of staff errors.
"Every year, we process thousands of releases for various reasons with minimal error," Mims said. "These were not early releases. At this time, they appear to be due to officer error. We will investigate how this happened and make corrections accordingly."
Prieto is described as Hispanic, 5 feet 10 inches, 175 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. He has several tattoos on his upper body. He was arrested by Parlier police in June 2010 on charges of robbery, possession of stolen property, gang enhancements and a parole violation.
Van is described as Caucasian, 6 feet 2 inches tall, 200 pounds with short blond hair and blue eyes. He has a tattoo of red lips on his neck. He had been arrested by Clovis police in December on domestic violence charges.
Law enforcement has been looking for Prieto and Van since their releases were discovered, sheriff's spokesman Chris Curtice said.
Van has contacted law enforcement in an effort to turn himself in but had not done so as of Wednesday evening. When he is returned to the jail, he will be released to his Poverello House program, the sheriff's office said. Anyone with information about where to locate Prieto or Van can call the Fresno County Sheriff's Office at (559) 488-3111 or CrimeStoppers at 498-STOP (7867).
The reporters can be reached at [email protected], [email protected] or (559) 441-6327.
Copyright 2012 - The Fresno Bee, Calif.
