A Georgia correctional facility was thrown into a state of chaos for 12 hours when a convicted murderer appeared to have disappeared, only to be discovered the following morning in a courtroom holding cell where he had been inadvertently left. Julian Brooks Deloach, who was convicted of murder in 1984 and paroled in 2010, had been moved to Clayton County Jail in Jonesboro for a trial on a recent misdemeanor.
For a period of 12 hours, the jail staff was unable to locate Deloach, leading to a comprehensive lockdown and an exhaustive search of the entire facility, according to Clayton County Sheriff Levon Allen. The situation caused a significant amount of panic among the jail staff and authorities.
After a thorough examination of the jail’s surveillance footage, it was discovered that the 70-year-old inmate had spent the entire 12 hours alone in an unmonitored holding cell. “There was a confusion about who was responsible for escorting the inmate, and as a result, he was left in the holding cell,” Allen explained.
The holding cell is connected to both the jail and the courthouse. However, officers did not think to inspect the area as inmates are not permitted to stay there overnight. Deloach had only a bench and a toilet for company and was left unsupervised after 6 p.m.
“There is no one actually monitoring that particular cell if there was a distress call,” Allen said, adding that the forgotten inmate was in no danger of escape since the holding cell is attached to the jail. Deloach was discovered at 7 a.m., 12 hours after he was placed in the cell.
In response to the incident, Allen recommended that the correctional sergeants responsible for the oversight be demoted, and the two deputies assigned to the court division be suspended. The officers waived their rights to a hearing and accepted the sheriff’s recommended punishment.