Authorities search for suspect wanted in killing who was mistakenly released from Indianapolis jail
Sep 22, 2023, 6:35 AM | Updated: 9:26 am
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A man wanted for a 2021 killing in Minnesota was mistakenly released from jail in Indianapolis last week and authorities are now offering a reward of up to $10,000 as they continue searching for him.
Kevin Mason, 28, was arrested in Indianapolis on Sept. 11 but a preliminary review found he was released Sept. 13 due to a faulty records review by clerks with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, officials said.
On Thursday, the sheriff’s office announced that the U.S. Marshals Office was offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to Mason’s arrest.
“We will not stop and we will not sleep until he is back in custody,” Col. James Martin with the sheriff’s office said during Thursday’s news conference.
Officials said more than 300 officers from local departments and the U.S. Marshals Service took part in manhunt overnight Wednesday in Indianapolis and other jurisdictions for Mason, The Indianapolis Star reported.
Officials waited six days before informing the public of Mason’s mistaken release. Martin said Thursday that police used that time as a “tactical advantage” to keep him from running underground.
A reward poster released by the U.S. Marshals Service says Mason may be in Indianapolis or the Minneapolis area.
He remained at large Friday morning, said Allison Marshall, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office.
The sheriff’s office said later Friday its investigation has determined Mason left Indianapolis on the evening of Sept. 13 and said the U.S. Marshals Service was now overseeing the search for him.
Authorities have been in contact with “law enforcement agencies of areas where Mason is believed to have connections,” the sheriff’s office said without elaborating. The agency also repeated its request for the public to provide any tips about Mason’s whereabouts to investigators.
Mason was arrested in Indianapolis on three warrants — including murder — from three different jurisdictions, the sheriff’s office said. He is accused of killing Dontevius A. Catchings, 29, in June 2021 outside a Minneapolis church after the funeral of a mutual friend.
The sheriff’s office said Wednesday that Mason’s 29-year-old girlfriend had been arrested on charges of assisting a criminal. Sheriff Kerry J. Forestal said she picked Mason up in her car Sept. 13 after his accidental release, then allegedly obtained a cellphone and bought men’s clothing and toiletries.
Online court records do not indicate Mason’s girlfriend has been formally charged in that incident.
