A man who was mistakenly released from the Clay County Jail turned himself back in Tuesday after more than a month of freedom.
John Patrick Murphy, 56, turned himself in at the jail about 11 p.m., Clay County Sheriff Bill Bergquist said.
Murphy, 2016 1st Ave. S., Fargo, walked out of the jail Jan. 9 even though county officials had a 72-hour hold on him after an arrest for a probation violation.
He had been convicted of assault and terrorizing judges, police, attorneys and others.
He was spotted in Fargo-Moorhead in late January, but still was being sought.
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Bergquist said Murphy told officials Tuesday he had heard they were looking for him, so he turned himself in.
An internal investigation of the matter by his department is finished, Bergquist said.
He said it appears some jail staffers misunderstood the type of hold Murphy was on.
When a person is arrested by city police or county deputies, they can only be held for 48 hours without a court order, he said. If the person is jailed on Friday, by Sunday, officials must get a judge to sign an order allowing the jail to hold the person longer.
That kind of hold counts time spent in jail over the weekend toward the 48-hour deadline.
But Murphy was put under a 72-hour hold at the Clay County Jail after being arrested Jan. 6 on the parole violation, according to court documents. Bergquist said he was being held by the Minnesota Department of Corrections; that kind of hold does not count weekend time. Jailers incorrectly counted the weekend time, thus letting Murphy out before they were supposed to.
Two jail employees may face disciplinary action, but that process still is pending.
(Tom Pantera writes for The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, a Forum Communications Co. newspaper)
