Inmate accidentally released early from the Delaware County jail, officials say
Daniel Rogers, a Darby man convicted of DUI earlier this month, was accidentally released from the George W. Hill Correctional Facility on Aug. 9, according to county officials.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/pmn/LLEL2TKT65BWFODKAGGM32BSR4.jpg)
A Darby man was accidentally released from the George W. Hill Correctional Facility earlier this month, officials said Wednesday as they continued their search for him.
Daniel Rogers, 41, had been incarcerated in Delaware County’s jail since Aug. 5, when he pleaded guilty to DUI, court records show. Judge Richard Cappelli sentenced him to 72 hours to six months, but officials accidentally released him from the facility Aug. 9, before his release had been authorized by administrators there, according to sources at the jail with firsthand knowledge of the investigation.
Staff at the jail was not informed that Rogers had been released until Aug. 15, when they spoke with court officials about Rogers’ case, according to a county spokesperson. Administrators at the jail began the search for him immediately.
Rogers’ attorney, Wana Saadzoi, did not immediately return a request for comment.
» READ MORE: The Delco jail’s union issues a vote of no-confidence against the warden, seeks to oust her
The county spokesperson confirmed Wednesday that investigators were still attempting to find Rogers, and were visiting previous addresses associated with him. The circumstances of his release remained under investigation.
“Efforts are currently underway to return the individual to the facility,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “We are conducting a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding this incident and will implement corrective measures to prevent it from happening again in the future.”
A similar incident at George W. Hill took place in February 2023, when Amin Hall was mistakenly allowed to leave the jail instead of another inmate scheduled to be released.
Hall, who had been awaiting trial in a 2022 case on drug and gun charges, was later arrested and returned to the jail. In July, he pleaded guilty to illegally possessing a gun and is currently serving a four-to-eight year sentence in state prison.
Warden Laura K. Williams has received criticism in recent months from the Delaware County Prison Employees Independent Union, the labor union representing the guards at George W. Hill. Its leadership delivered a vote of no-confidence petition against Williams to county council at a meeting in June, saying working conditions inside the facility have worsened under her tenure.