Manhunt Underway For Suspected MN Killer Mistakenly Released From Jail

INDIANAPOLIS — An around-the-clock manhunt is underway for a suspected Minneapolis killer after he was mistakenly released from a detention center in Indianapolis last week.

Due to a "faulty records review by civilian staff," Kevin Mason, 28, was released from jail Sept. 13, according to the Marion County, Indiana Sheriff's Office.

Mason's girlfriend, identified as Desiree Oliver, is suspected of helping Mason flee and was arrested Wednesday afternoon. The county waited six days to alert the public about Mason's release while they tracked his girlfriend.

After two years of being on the run, Mason was arrested Sept. 11 in Indianapolis on a homicide and two other warrants out of Minnesota. He is suspected in the June 2021 fatal shooting of Dontevius Catchings outside a memorial service at the Shiloh Temple in Minneapolis.

Mason was mistakenly released from the Indianapolis jail just two days later.

"This was an error. This should not have happened. Mason should not have been released from our custody," Marion County Sheriff Col. James Martin said in a news conference Tuesday.

Two Marion County inmate records clerks involved in the error were since fired, authorities said.

Anyone with information on the incident or Mason's location is urged to contact the Marion County Sheriff's Office at 317-327-7940 or Crime Stoppers at 317-262-TIPS (8477). Mason is encouraged to turn himself in.

If spotted, call 911 immediately but do not take any action yourself, the sheriff's office said.

Mason's mistaken release occurred just weeks after convicted murderer Danelo Cavalcante escaped from Chester County Prison.

Cavalcante eluded law enforcement for 13 days until a combination of drones, dogs, and some 500 officers found him in the woods outside Pennsylvania's South Coventry Township.

He escaped from Chester County prison by "crabwalking" up a wall to the roof and somehow making his way through a razor-wire fence. Read more.