Inmate back in custody after mistaken release

A Harris County Jail inmate who was mistakenly released was taken back into custody on Friday night.

Justin Tompkins, 21, was released from jail shortly after 9 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 20. The circumstances that led to his mistaken release will be investigated. Initial indications are that jail staff mistook Tomkins for another inmate with the same name. Jail staff realized the mistake on Friday night and the Sheriff’s Office immediately launched a search. Tompkins voluntarily returned to the jail to surrender around 8:40 p.m. 

Tompkins had been in jail since December 2022 when he was arrested on a capital murder charge filed by the Houston Police Department. A judge set Tompkins’ bail at $750,000.