‘That’s not justice’: Typo lets accused murderer walk free from jail before police are able to recapture him
The court mixed up two case numbers, accidentally dismissing Amarion Sanders’ case
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A 22-year-old murder suspect was accidentally released from an Ohio jail after a “typographical error” but is now back in custody after hours on the run.
Amarion Sanders was indicted in October 2023 for aggravated murder and other charges in connection to the death of 39-year-old Derek Driskill. He has been held in jail since his arrest because he failed to pay the $1 million bond.
But then, on Monday, June 24, Sanders was released.
The case number of an unrelated case was entered incorrectly, so Sanders’ case was mistakenly dismissed, a judge wrote in a docket entry: “Unfortunately due to this court’s typographical error the defendant was released from the county jail.”
The judge then ordered police to apprehend him to be “returned to the county jail ASAP.”
Sanders was was re-arrested on Wednesday, a docket entry shows. It’s unclear where Sanders went or what he did with his hours of freedom.
Andrea Johnson, Driskill’s wife, weighed in on Tuesday about the news of her husband’s suspected murderer’s release.
“I don’t think it’s fair. I mean, that’s not justice, it’s not our family feeling safe. I mean, he’s out on the street and can do it to somebody else,” Johnson told Fox 8.
Sanders was inadvertently released almost exactly nine months after her husband was killed in a September 2023 shooting in Cleveland, the outlet reported.
When Driskill died, she said: “Obviously I was heartbroken. I didn’t want to believe it, but I thought he would be OK, but he died two days later.”
After Sanders’ accidental release, Andrea’s sister wrote on Facebook: “We are not moving past what an unforgivable mistake Cuyahoga county has done and the added trauma they have caused, but we are grateful to Law Enforcement for getting him back off the streets so quickly. Thank you. Please continue to pray for my sister and their kids. It is still a long road ahead.”
The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office told Fox 8 in a statement after the incident unfolded: “The case regarding defendant Amarion Sanders was accidentally dismissed Monday afternoon based on a clerical error made by the court. There was no motion to dismiss filed by our office. Our office immediately notified the court Tuesday morning of the error.”
Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas told the outlet that while it cannot “discuss an open case, but we deeply regret the error.”