4 hours Ago By People
A Georgia jail went into lockdown after cops realized they had lost track of a convicted murderer — only to realize that a severe “mix-up” had led to his so-called disappearance. One night in April, officials at Clayton County Jail in Jonesboro did a headcount and realized that Julian Brooks Deloach — who was convicted of murder in 1984 — was missing, prompting them to shut down the jail as officials searched for him, according to a report from ABC affiliate WSB-TV . After officers realized they could not locate Deloach, who was on loan at the jail from the state prison due to a recent misdemeanor, “there was a jail lockdown,” Clayton County Sheriff Levon Allen told the Atlanta outlet.
“They searched every cell, every area of the jail,” the sheriff said, adding that officers continued scouring the premises all night. The following morning at around 7 a.m.
local time, officials located Deloach. He had been left overnight in a courtroom holding cell following an appearance in court for his recent misdemeanor case, Allen told WSB-TV. The convict was alone in the cell for “roughly around 12, 13 hours,” the sheriff said, adding, “Ultimately, by the time we reviewed cameras and backtracked and took us back into the courtroom where he was at, of course, hours had passed.
” The Clayton County Jail did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on Sunday, May 4. The Clayton County Sheriff’s Office was unavailable for comment. The courthouse, which is attached to the jail, closes every day at 6 p.
m., Allen said, and the holding cells are not intended to hold anyone overnight. And though the cells are secure, they are unsupervised when court is not in session, Allen told the outlet.
“There is no one actually monitoring that particular cell if there was a distress call,” he said. Additionally, there are no beds, though Deloach had access to sinks, toilets and benches, the sheriff told WSB-TV. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.
According to Allen, Deloach was left in the cell due to the errors of four officers: two correctional sergeants at the jail and two deputies who are assigned to the court division. "There was a mix-up of who was going to take the inmate down,” the sheriff said, “and ultimately, he was left inside the holding cell.” Allen has proposed plans to demote the correctional sergeants and suspend the deputies, and though all four are allowed a hearing, three of the four officers have decided to waive that right, according to WSB-TV.
Following his 1984 murder conviction, Deloach was released on parole in 2010, though it was eventually revoked, the outlet reported. Read the original article on People.
