By Joseph Wilkinson
New York Daily News
ST. PAUL, Minn. — A suspected murderer who was mistakenly released from an Indiana prison on a clerical error was recaptured Wednesday in Minnesota.
Kevin Mason, 28, was on the run for two weeks after he received the accidental release from Marion County Jail in Indianapolis on Sept. 13.
U.S. Marshals captured him Wednesday in St. Paul, nearly 600 miles from where he was released.
“I would like to extend my sincere gratitude and congratulations to the USMS for concluding this manhunt and safely bringing Mason back into custody,” Marion County Sheriff Kerry Forestal said in a statement.
Mason is accused of killing Dontevius Catchings, 29, outside a funeral in Minneapolis on June 11, 2021. Warrants were issued for his arrest shortly afterward, but Mason remained on the lam for more than two years.
Authorities finally caught up with him on Sept. 11, 2023 in Indianapolis, and he was taken to the county jail. But on the morning of Sept. 13, a series of errors by jail clerks let Mason walk free.
The county sheriff alerted the public to the error about six days later. At that time, pursuers still believed Mason was in the Indianapolis area. During the search, they arrested Mason’s girlfriend, Desiree Oliver, and accused her of assisting a fugitive. She was formally charged on Monday.
Mason is charged in Minneapolis with second-degree murder, illegal possession of a firearm and violating his parole. He faces no charges in Indianapolis.
Two clerks involved in Mason’s accidental release were fired from their jobs at Marion County Jail.
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