SAN ANTONIO — An inmate who was released from the Bexar County Jail by mistake is now in custody.
Deputies with the Bexar County's Sheriff office were searching on foot around the jail around 3:40 a.m. Wednesday for Mitchell Boren, 56.
According to a BCSO spokesperson, Boren was released by Adult Detention Center staff without having made the necessary arrangements with Haven For Hope, as a result of an "error in connection with faxed paperwork."
After learning of the release, BCSO Patrol Deputies along with CID Investigators began searching for Boren. He was found and placed into custody without incident and taken to Haven For Hope for further processing.
Boren was originally booked on October 9 for Assault with Bodily Injury. This is the 16th erroneous release from the jail in 2019.
In September, the Sheriff's Office announced an overhaul to the jail's booking procedures to curb erroneous releases at the facility. That announcement came days after two inmates were mistakenly released from the Bexar County Jail.
As part of the changes, BCSO upped the number of captains overseeing booking from one to three. Additionally, members of the sheriff's command staff will be assigned to monitor booking throughout the day, providing additional supervision to the process.
The move comes as County Judge Nelson Wolff and candidates for sheriff criticized Sheriff Javier Salazar's handling of jail operations.
In August, Sheriff Salazar suggested the numerous erroneous releases could be intentional on the part of county employees.
"It could be employee fatigue; it could be that we’re opening a new facility and they’re getting used to the process," the sheriff told KENS 5.
"We’re certainly not ruling out any cause, but also, unfortunately, I can’t rule out that some of this is intentional at this point."