The Chatham County Sheriff’s Office mistakenly released a man on bail - due to a clerical error.
20-year-old Chesley Dion McSwain, of Siler City was arrested for a felony assault charge, but due to an error, was released on bail for a much lesser charge, failure to pay child support.
McSwain was released on January 12th, and was involved in a non-fatal shooting incident while accidentally out of custody.
The incident occurred on Feb 3rd. McSwain was then arrested on February 8th and charged with felony attempted first-degree murder, felony assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, assault on a female, assault with a deadly weapon, four counts of assault with a deadly weapon with a minor present and one count of communicating threats.
"We are looking into stronger checks to avoid similar mistakes in the future, such as changing our process to require magistrates to sign and complete all release orders," said Major Gardner. "Disciplinary action has been taken and the officer responsible for McSwain's release has been held accountable for his mistake."
"No one is perfect and mistakes happen, but we also expect law enforcement officers to be held to a higher standard," said Sheriff Mike Roberson. "We take safety and policy violations serious and will act swiftly to rectify situations that jeopardize public welfare or trust."
The officer involved with McSwain's release is no longer employed by Chatham County.
You can read more on ABC 11.