INDIANAPOLIS — The Marion County Sheriff's Office said that Darrell Austin is back in custody after he was accidentally released due to being mistakenly identified as his twin brother on Friday.
Officials say the MCSO identified an administrative release error involving two identical twin brothers, Darrell Austin and Daron Austin, who were being housed in the facility at the same time for two separate incidents.
Bond was posted for Daron, and the staff accidentally retrieved and processed Darrell for release.
Darrell was in custody on charges of theft, criminal mischief and battery by bodily waste.
MCSO said upon discovery of the error, staff immediately notified the courts to obtain an arrest warrant to bring Darrell back into custody.
“There’s no excuse — we own it,” said Major Ben Bostock in a press release. “This is a highly unusual set of circumstances. Two people with similar names, the same date of birth, and nearly identical appearance were in our jail at the same time, and staff were operating under a valid bond. That being said, it is clear that some policies were not strictly complied with. As such, this matter has been referred to Internal Affairs and the staff members responsible will be held accountable.”
Darrell was later taken into custody without incident. He is now being charged with escape. MCSO said preliminary evidence indicates he impersonated his brother during the release process.
