Inmate Charged In Strip Club Shooting Accidentally Released From Jail

SANDY SPRINGS, GA -- One of three men charged in connection to a shooting inside a Sandy Springs strip club was accidentally released from the Fulton County Jail, and those who run the facility have implemented a new policy to ensure the mistake won't happen again.

Tracy Flanagan, spokesperson for the Fulton County Sheriff's Office, said the mishap occurred earlier this week when a staffer misread a court document related to the case of Lamar Hillard.

Hillard, of Eerie, Pennsylvania, was arrested by Sandy Springs police following the Feb. 6 shooting inside Dollhouse at 5275 Roswell Road. Two men were seriously wounded in the shooting, which police previously told Patch stemmed from a dispute over money.

Flanagan said a staff member at the jail said she saw the official stamp indicating the charges against Hillard were nolle prossed, or not to be prosecuted, and that he should have been a released a few days earlier.

"She rushed to begin processing paperwork because the jail is prohibited from holding persons longer than required by law," Flanagan added. "Unfortunately, she overlooked a handwritten notation indicating that Hillard was re-indicted on the same charges."

The grand jury re-indicted Hillard on criminal attempt to commit murder, armed robbery, three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault (reasonable apprehension) and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

Hillard was released during the early hours on July 4, and the jail became aware of the error later that morning, Flanagan said. The Fulton sheriff's office obtained a judge's signature to issue a warrant for Hillard's arrest and the search for him spanned across the country.

The Fulton County Sheriff's Office's Fugitive Unit, with the help of the United States Marshals Service Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force and the FBI, began tracking the shooting suspect. Investigators believed he would be heading to his home state of Pennsylvania, but on July 5, an Ohio state trooper pulled over Hillard. The trooper learned Hillard had a warrant for his arrest concerning drug charges dating back to 2008, in addition to the new arrest warrant issued by the Fulton sheriff's office, Flanagan added.

He was arrested and is currently being held in Ashtabula, Ohio. Flanagan states Hillard has to answer to the charges in that state before he can be transported back to Fulton County. Once the case in Ohio is closed, the sheriff's office will begin the extradition process.

"The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office is grateful to the Ohio State Highway Patrol and all the law enforcement professionals who worked swiftly to track Hillard and recapture him safely," Flanagan told Patch.

To help prevent an error like this from happening in the future, Flanagan said a supervisor from the records unit as well as a supervisor from the section tasked with releasing inmates will now have to sign off on any release of those charged with one of "Georgia's seven deadly sins:" murder, rape, armed robbery, aggravated child molestation, aggravated sodomy, aggravated sexual battery and kidnapping with bodily injury.

Image via Fulton County Jail