WNCT-On Your Side
CWENC
|
 
NewsNews

Pitt Co. Sheriff's Office explains mistaken inmate identity case

Pitt Co. Sheriff's Office explains mistaken inmate identity case

Sheriff: "We can't independently decide to let somebody go"


»  Comments | Post a Comment

A Greenville man is back at home after spending a week in jail because someone made a mistake. Greenville police arrested 44-year-old Jessie Ray Hardy, Jr., last week and drove him across the state to face charges for resisting an officer and breaking and entering in Guilford County.
But it turns out they had the wrong Jessie Ray Hardy, Jr.
The man they were looking for was 23 years younger. So with an apology and $58 for a bus ticket home and lunch, Hardy is back in the east. But his neighbors aren’t happy.
"Right now when you're falsely accused that's embarrassing,” said Hardy’s neighbor Mable Ruffin. “You on the news...that's embarrassing…crazy they made this mistake because I thought the system should be better than that."
"There's a lot of people looking at paperwork and verifying documentation so it's just human every now and then somebody's going to miss something, “ said Pitt County Sheriff Mac Manning.
And apparently that’s what happened with Hardy.
Sheriff Manning said Hardy was serving time in the Pitt County Detention Center since August 27th for misdemeanor larceny.
On September 5th, Greenville Police went to the jail with additional charges; failure to appear, resisting arrest and breaking & entering in Guilford county.
"Apparently he did not protest or say to the officer or the jail staff--I've never been to Guilford County,” Sheriff Manning said. “I couldn't possibly be charged with a crime there."
But Sheriff Manning says Pitt County Detention did notice their own discrepancy: Hardy's age.
Sheriff Manning adds, "We alerted them to the fact that there was a discrepancy in the date of birth…We can't independently decide to let somebody go when we have a custody order that says their supposed to be in jail."
Sheriff Manning says Hardy's fingerprints could have tipped everyone off that they had the wrong man. But since Hardy didn't raise a fuss it snowballed into a situation all agencies involved won't soon forget.

9OYS attempted to find Jessie Hardy, Jr., on Monday, but even the people who are his friends weren't quit sure where he was for comment.

Terms & Conditions

Advertisement

 
 

Advertisement

Reader Comments

*Facebook Account Required to Comment. If you are not already logged into Facebook, please click the comment button to do so.

Deal of the Day

Advertisement

Interactive Radar

Storm Team 9 Forecast

Video Preview

Advertisement

Featured Blogger

Reel Reviews

Reel Reviews

Updated: 02/06/2012

Nine On Your Side's Phillip Sayblack shares his take on the latest movie and dvd releases.

More Posts by Reel Reviews
 

Things to Do

Hot Topics on WNCT.com

Advertisement

Media General
DealTaker.com - Coupons and Deals
DealTaker.com Promo Codes
KewlBoxBoxerJam: Games & Puzzles
Games, Puzzles & Trivia
Blockdot: Advergaming and Branded Media
Advergaming and Branded Media