Syracuse, N.Y ― Onondaga County sheriff’s jail deputies in early August released the wrong inmate and staff gave her someone else’s drugs to treat addiction.
Three days later, when deputies found her, they charged her with escape and drug possession for the drugs that jail staff had given her
A month later, prosecutors dropped those charges against the woman, Cortney Phillips, allowing her to plead guilty to a lesser charge. Judge James Cecile ordered her released from jail.
Prosecutor Kali Benjovsky said her office decided not to prosecute Phillips for the deputies’ mistake. She said she could not prove Phillips had the intent to escape or possess the drugs.
“They just kept telling her she was getting released,” Benjovsky said. “So she just went along with the process.”
Sheriff Toby Shelley said Wednesday he wasn’t involved in the decision to charge Phillips with escape, drug possession and falsifying a document, but he thinks it was the right thing.
The sheriff said that once she signed the documents, she should have realized she was not supposed to be released, and the drugs were not hers.
He said this was enough probable cause for an arrest even if it was not enough for prosecution.
Phillips’ attorney, Caleb Petzoldt, said that while probable cause is a low burden, the escape and drug charges would have been difficult to prosecute.
The mistake began Aug. 8 when custody deputies mistakenly informed Phillips that she was being released, while the woman who was actually meant to be released was in a nearby cell, according to the sheriff.
Deputies didn’t check her wristband that included her name and a photo, Shelley said.
Shelley has said he really can’t understand how the mistake happened.
“Our policy requires four times that you identify the inmate to ensure you have the right one,” the sheriff said. “I really can’t wrap my head around how it could have happened.”
Phillips was handed 10 doses of methadone, a drug used to treat addiction, that was intended for the woman who was supposed to be released.
The drugs were given to Phillips by jail medical staff, said Tom Newton, a sheriff’s spokesperson.
On Aug. 11, Phillips was found sleeping on someone’s couch in Mattydale after bouncing from place to place, Shelley said. All 10 doses of Methadone were found with her, unused, Benjovsky said.
On Sept. 10, Phillips pleaded guilty to first-degree falsifying a business record, admitting she signed the release papers using the name of the woman who was supposed to be released. The guilty plea also satisfies a third-degree burglary charge that had originally landed her in jail.
Cecile, who oversees the county drug court, sent Phillips to an inpatient drug treatment facility, prosecutor Michael Mordue said.
If Phillips is successful in her drug treatment, the court agreed to drop the felony charge and allow Phillips to plead guilty to misdemeanor falsifying a business record and would be sentenced to a conditional discharge, Mordue said.
If she is not successful, she could face state prison time for the falsifying a business record charge she pleaded guilty to, he said.
Phillips had no prior criminal record, Newton said.
Four deputies ― Melvin DeJesus, Luke Fiumara and Gerald Wagner and Sgt. Eric Rhoda ― were disciplined for releasing the wrong person.
Rhoda, a supervisor, lost five vacation days plus his position in the booking department, according to the sheriff’s office disciplinary letter obtained by Syracuse.com. Rhoda has previously had “multiple documented performance issues within booking,” the letter said.
The other three deputies each lost four vacation days.