BEAUMONT, Texas — More information is being released on why a convicted felon was set free from the Jefferson County Jail by mistake.
Justin DeBourgeois, 25, of Jasper, was released from the Jefferson County Correctional Facility on June 15, 2023 according to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.
But, it turns out, he should not have been released at all.
The Jasper County Sheriff's Office says he was actually sentenced to 13 years in prison for a July 2021 aggravated robbery and is set to be turned over to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
"Someone made a mistake whether it's their agency or our agency and we need to identify what mistake was made, so we can correct it and so that it doesn't happen in the future," Captain Crystal Holmes of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office told 12News on Wednesday.
Jefferson County Sheriff Zena Stephens tells 12News it boils down to a mix-up of paperwork.
"They contacted us, through a teletype, that he had no holds on him. Which means to us that he has no TDC holds to go to prison or no holds in Jasper County. So, we sent our transport down there to pick him up and we brought him back to our county, thinking he was clear," Stephens said.
In late April 2023 DeBourgeois was set to face possession of a controlled substance charges in Jefferson County Holmes said in a statement.
Jefferson County deputies were notified on April 19, 2023, that he was ready to be picked up at the Jasper County Jail, Holmes said,
Jasper County notified them that he was "clear local charges and is ready for pickup," Holmes told 12News.
Deputies from Jefferson County picked him up at the Jasper County Jail on April 26, 2023.
Jasper County Chief Deputy Scott Duncan told Jefferson County deputies that when they transferred DeBourgeois in their custody they included a "detainer order" according to Holmes.
But Holmes says Jefferson County deputies did not find the "detainer order" in his packet.
DeBourgeois was sentenced on June 14, 2023, to 180 days in jail on the drug possession charges but was was given credit for time served.
The next day, on June 15, 2023, he was ready to be released from the Jefferson County jail Holmes said.
Before they let him go Jefferson County deputies verified through both the Texas Crime Information Center and the National Crime Information Center that there were no warrants or holds on Debourgeois, Holmes said.
He was then released.
Both agencies are now working to find him and get him back behind bars.
This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.
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