Houston cops have launched a desperate manhunt for a suspect mistakenly released from jail ahead of his prison sentence.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office has asked locals to “be on the lookout” for Troy Dugas, 36, in an X post Monday.
“Deputies are searching for Dugas after he was mistakenly released from jail on Sunday at 4:30 p.m.”, the sheriff’s office said.
Police say Dugas was about to be locked up in state prison to serve a five-year sentence for assaulting a family member and a two-year sentence for evading arrest.
Dugas had been in the Harris County Jail since August 14 on other charges that were later dismissed, the sheriff’s office said, per local ABC affiliate KTRK.
Since jail employees did not properly document his state prison sentence, they assumed he was eligible for release after those additional charges were dropped, according to police.
"A thorough investigation will be conducted to determine the circumstances that led to Dugas' erroneous release from jail," the sheriff’s office said.