Inmate at large after release from Baltimore jail by mistake

WASHINGTON — A man awaiting trial on murder charges is at large after he was released from a Baltimore jail by mistake.

The Baltimore Sun reports that authorities found out Sunday night that Rodriquez Purnell was missing from the Maryland Reception, Diagnostic and Classification Center. Officials at the center “immediately notified law enforcement and began an investigation,” corrections spokesman Mark A. Vernarelli told The Sun in an email.

They announced that Purnell was missing Monday afternoon; they haven’t said how the mistake happened.

The Sun says that the center is for inmates who are segregated from the general prison population for reasons including because they’re considered dangerous or a target for violence, or because they’re headed to another facility.

It’s at least the second time something like this has happened in the past few years, The Sun says.

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