A New Orleans inmate who was mistakenly released last month due to a clerical error has been captured in Texas, prison officials said.
Khalil Bryan was released on July 25 from the Orleans Parish Justice Center by the sheriff’s office, officials said at the time.
After a nearly month-long manhunt, he was finally captured over 300 miles away in Harris County, Texas. He was nabbed with the help of an anonymous Crime Stoppers tip, the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday.
It’s not clear how he made it to Texas.
Bryan was apprehended Wednesday morning in a joint operation by the U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force.
When he was located at a residence, he attempted to flee out of a window, without success, the Harris County Constable Precinct 5 said.
He was treated for minor injuries and booked into the Harris County Jail.
Bryan was serving time for charges including possession of stolen property, possession of drug paraphernalia and resisting an officer, New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said at a news conference last month.
He had multiple outstanding felony arrest warrants out of Louisiana over charges of home invasion, aggravated assault, child endangerment and unlawful possession of a firearm, Harris County officials said.
Two other people at the location were also arrested on unrelated warrants.
“We are grateful to the community member who stepped forward through Crimestoppers to provide the information that ultimately led to Mr. Bryan’s arrest. This shows the power of community partnership in keeping our city safe,” Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson said a statement Wednesday.
Hutson said the erroneous release was due to “human failure” and those responsible have been held “accountable.”
“We have taken responsibility and put safeguards in place. Today we can say that Khalil Bryan is back in custody where he belongs,” Hutson said.
Bryan had been released after an error caused officials to confuse him with another inmate with a similar last name, Hutson previously said.
Two deputies were fired and five others were suspended in connection with the accidental release, the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office previously said.
Bryan will be transported back to New Orleans to face pending charges.
The Orleans Parish Justice Center is the same prison where 10 men escaped earlier this year through a hole in the wall behind a cell toilet. It took more than a month for New Orleans officials to round up nine of the men, with one more at large.
