INDIANAPOLIS, IN – A large-scale search operation is in progress in Indiana following the inadvertent release of a murder suspect from a detention center. The incident, which was kept confidential for nearly a week, was reportedly due to an error in record review by the detention center staff.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Kevin Mason, 28, was erroneously discharged from the Adult Detention Center (ADC) on September 13. This occurred just two days post his arrest and was attributed to a faulty record review by the staff. The Sheriff’s Office has since initiated an internal investigation into the matter, resulting in the termination of two employees.
The authorities only made the incident public six days after Mason’s unintentional release, seeking the public’s help in locating him. The delay in disclosure was reportedly a strategic move to maintain an advantage in the search operation.
Mason, who is a suspect in a homicide case, has three outstanding arrest warrants in Minnesota. Reports link him to a fatal shooting incident that occurred outside the Shiloh Temple, a Pentecostal church in Minneapolis, in 2021.
Court records indicate that Mason was involved in a physical altercation with Dontevius Ahmad Catchings outside the church. The dispute, allegedly over a firearm that Mason had failed to return to Catchings, escalated into a shooting. Catchings succumbed to his injuries, and Mason was charged with both second-degree murder and possession of a firearm.
Mason is described as being 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighing 205 pounds, and having distinctive tattoos, including a cross under his left eye and the letters ‘SUB’ on his chest.