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| Inmate Who Switched IDs Wrongly Released |
| By Houston Chronicle |
| Published: 06/05/2003 |
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A Kansas City man enjoyed about 24 hours of freedom after walking out of the Brazoria County, Texas, Jail by pretending to be another inmate. It was the second time in six months an inmate was mistakenly released from the county detention center. DeMarcus Jerome Hart, 23, switched inmate identification wrist bands with Jason Starks, 23, said Chief Deputy Sheriff Charles Wagner. When someone came to the jail early May 28 to pay Starks' fine, Hart pretended to be Starks and left the jail, Wagner said. Deputies found him shortly after midnight May 29 with a woman in a motel in south Houston after receiving tips on his whereabouts. Both men had been arrested on misdemeanor drug charges on Surfside Beach in separate incidents on May 26. Starks pleaded guilty and agreed to stay in jail for several days in lieu of paying a $300 fine. Hart also was being held without bail on charges of violating parole in Missouri, where he had been convicted of possession of a controlled substance and robbery. 'Missouri is going to have to wait a little while to get him now,' Wagner said. Officials in Brazoria County plan to charge him with felony escape. Starks and the person who paid his fine may also be charged with aiding the escape, Wagner said. Investigators don't know if Hart forced Starks to exchange wrist bands or paid him, Wagner said. 'We're conducting an internal investigation now,' Wagner said. Last November a jailer mistakenly released a man charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after misunderstanding a judge's bail order. The man later turned himself in and did not face escape charges. The assault charge was later dropped. |
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