Mistakenly freed inmate charged with murder

SEATTLE — An inmate mistakenly released from a Washington state prison three months early has been charged with shooting and killing a teenager when he should have been locked up, officials said Thursday.

Jeremiah Smith, 26, was wrongly released May 14, making him one of thousands of offenders freed early since 2002 because of a software coding error that miscalculated sentences. Less than two weeks later, he gunned down Ceasar Medina, 17, outside a tattoo parlor in Spokane, authorities said.

Smith, who had been convicted of robbery, burglary and assault, shouldn’t have been released until Aug. 10, authorities say. He is in jail and charged with first-degree murder and robbery in the May 26 killing.

It’s the second death tied to the early release of prisoners, and there are likely to be more crimes that have been committed by inmates freed too soon, Department of Corrections Secretary Dan Pacholke said.

“I’m very concerned about what we’ll uncover as we move forward,” Pacholke said in a conference call with reporters. “It concerns me deeply about just the tragedy that is being produced based on early release.”

Another prisoner mistakenly released early has been charged with vehicular homicide in the death of his girlfriend in a Bellevue car crash that happened when he should have been behind bars, state officials revealed Monday.

Pacholke said he and Gov. Jay Inslee have apologized and offered condolences to Medina’s family and the relatives of the woman killed.

Officials announced last week that as many as 3,200 prisoners have been mistakenly released since 2002 because of problems calculating sentences. So far, more than two dozen offenders who need to serve additional time are back in custody, including four from Snohomish County, and the Department of Corrections is reviewing additional releases. No Snohomish County offenders have been named among those who have committed new crimes since their erroneous release.

Among those released and recaptured was Rachel Patterson, who was supposed to be serving a three-year sentence for a stabbing in Snohomish.

Patterson, then 28, and her boyfriend, convicted felon Tristin Smith, attacked three brothers who were playing on a field in 2013. Smith, the primary suspect, received an eight-year sentence. The attack was unprovoked, and the brothers were strangers to the couple.

Patterson’s sentence included extra time, because the knife was a deadly weapon. She was released Sept. 28, according to the state corrections database.

At least three other Snohomish County offenders are on the list of those recaptured. That includes Christopher Miskelly, a burglar who was captured after his intended victims woke up. They overpowered him and hog-tied him until help arrived.

Another was a man who served time for a 2009 Snohomish County assault conviction. Corrections officials said Jesse Adams was released in error Dec. 7. His new release date is in February.

The attorney general’s office advised the Department of Corrections in 2012 that it wasn’t necessary to manually recalculate prisoners’ sentences after the software error was brought to light, according to documents released by the department late Wednesday.

The assistant attorney general assigned to the agency wrote in December 2012 that from a “risk management perspective,” a recalculation, by hand, of hundreds of sentences was “not so urgent” because a software reprogramming fix eventually would take care of the issue, according to the emails released in response to a public records request by The Associated Press.

Corrections officials acknowledged this week that the software fix was delayed 16 times and ultimately never done. A fix is expected early next month, and corrections officials say they are doing manual recalculations for prisoners whose sentences might have been affected.

The agency was alerted to the error in December 2012, when a victim’s family learned of a prisoner’s imminent release. The family did its own calculations and found that the prisoner was being credited with too much time for good behavior.

The mistake followed a 2002 state Supreme Court ruling requiring the Department of Corrections to apply good-behavior credits earned in county jail to state prison sentences. But the programming fix ended up giving prisoners with sentencing enhancements too much “good time credit.”

Sentencing enhancements include additional prison time given for certain crimes, such those using firearms. Under state law, prisoners who get extra time for sentencing enhancements cannot have it reduced for good behavior.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Starbucks employee Zach Gabelein outside of the Mill Creek location where he works on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mill Creek Starbucks votes 21-1 to form union

“We obviously are kind of on the high of that win,” store bargaining delegate Zach Gabelein said.

Lynnwood police respond to a collision on highway 99 at 176 street SW. (Photo provided by Lynnwood Police)
Southbound lanes on Highway 99 reopen after crash

The crash, on Highway 99 at 176th Street SW, blocked traffic for over an hour. Traffic was diverted to 168th Street SW.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett to welcome new CEO

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Kelli Littlejohn, who was 11 when her older sister Melissa Lee was murdered, speaks to a group of investigators and deputies to thank them for bringing closure to her family after over 30 years on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘She can rest in peace’: Jury convicts Bothell man in 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Search underway to find missing Everett child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday morning at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive.

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.