CHARLESTON -
Kanawha County Circuit Court Judge Carrie Webster released a statement Sunday evening defending her actions surrounding the mistaken release of an attempted kidnapping suspect last week.
Jeremy Carter was released last week from South Central Regional Jail before his attempted kidnapping charge was heard. He was arrested a second time shortly after the court realized its mistake.
Carter is accused of trying to kidnap a child near downtown South Charleston last year.
In a statement, Webster said it was misinterpretation of her order, directed at a psychiatric evaluation, rather than the kidnapping charges.
"The Court never intended to dismiss the attempted kidnapping charge against Mr. Carter," Webster said in her statement. "The Court's intent is or should be clear from the language in the dismissal order..."
Webster claimed the release should have been confirmed with her office, before officials at South Central Regional Jail released Carter last Thursday, several days after the dismissal order was filed.
"At the very least, there should have been communication with the Court regarding its intent, particularly since the underlying felony number WAS NOT contained in the Dismissal Order, and in light of the fact that the Jail Release Form was executed six days AFTER the Dismissal Order was entered and filed."
It is not clear, according to Webster's statement what caused the mistaken release, but she said there is an investigation underway.
"While questions still linger regarding why or how this inadvertent mistake occurred, it is abundantly clear that the Court DID NOT enter an order directing dismissal of 12-F-2685 or authorizing Mr. Carter's release on that charge. It is equally clear that his release resulted from a document other than the Dismissal Order, and was specifically authorized by someone other than the underlying judge," said Webster.
You can read the full statement by clicking here.
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2013 WorldNow and WOWK. All Rights Reserved.
