INDIANAPOLIS — Suspected killer Kevin Mason, 28, was mistakenly released from the Marion County Jail two days after he was arrested. The sheriff's office was tight-lipped about it until about a week after he was accidently set free on Sept. 13.
“Without speaking to the specifics of this case, I don't know why you would wait for so long to tell the public, unless there's a very good investigative reason,” said Dr. Bryce Peterson, an adjunct professor at John Jay College who studies data relating to escaped inmates.
Peterson said if an inmate is escaped or accidently released, violent or not, time is of the essence when alerting the public.
"We've seen recently with the escape that happened in Pennsylvania, a lot of the leads that are generated come from the public. So whether it's from private security cameras at people's homes, whether it's public sightings of those individuals that escaped, that's a way of generating leads for law enforcement authorities that are looking for those individuals,” said Peterson.
In a press conference earlier this week, Marion County Sheriff Kerry Forestal alleged Mason could be in the area of Southport Road and Emerson Avenue. Fast forward to Friday, when the sheriff's office said he hasn't been in the city since the day he was released.
“In general when people escape from custody, they're usually recaptured, but if a week has gone by and they have already left the immediate vicinity, the apprehension is going to be much more difficult for authorities,” Peterson said.
And while Mason has been charged with the murder of a Minneapolis man, Peterson said it's not likely he would perform any violent acts while on the run.
“Even people convicted of serious crimes like murder often don't engage in violence in the community while they're on the lam, because they're usually too busy looking for places to hide, eluding authorities and looking for food and water,” said Peterson.