September 19, 2000

Alleged gunman out of jail by mistake Faulty records blamed for July release By MARTI GOODLAD HELINE Tribune Staff Writer

SOUTH BEND -- The suspected gunman in the slayings of three construction workers near Lakeville was released by mistake from the St. Joseph County Jail on July 15, officials acknowledged Monday.

An error in jail computer records appears to be the reason Phillip Stroud was released after posting a $3,000 bond instead of the $8,000 a judge required.

"We are looking into it to find out what happened. It appears he should still be in custody," said Maj. Robert Finn, county police public information officer.

The release had nothing to do with the attempted murder case against Stroud that the prosecutor's office dismissed in May at the start of his trial.

In June, Stroud, 21, remained in the county jail on two separate 1999 felony cases charging him with dealing in cocaine. One required a $3,000 bond, and the other required a $5,000 bond.

Stroud, acting as his own attorney at the time, asked for a reduction in his bonds. St. Joseph Superior Court Judge William T. Means turned down the request at a July 14 hearing.

But the jail computer records show a notation that says Means approved that Stroud could be released on his own recognizance in the case requiring a $5,000 bond, according to Sgt. Mark Kovach. Releasing someone on his own recognizance means no bond needs to be posted.

On July 15, $3,000 bond was posted in Stroud's other cocaine-dealing case, and he was released, the computer records show.

But it was not supposed to happen that way.

There is nothing in Stroud's court records to show his $5,000 bond was ever modified in any way.

Neither Means nor his staff recalled any other bond issue Monday other than the July 14 denial of a lower bond amount. Means' office received no calls from the jail about it, according to his staff.

Finn said notes taken by officers who escorted Stroud to court on July 14 show the $5,000 bond was continued unchanged.

But somehow between July 13 and 15, the wrong information was entered into the jail computer, according to Finn.

"We're trying to see who was working and what went on to see what happened," Finn said.

What happens next depends on the results of the internal investigation.

It may be a case where the wrong information was entered with the wrong case number, Finn suggested. That seemed most likely to him.

Stroud had several other pending matters, including several misdemeanor cases and a petition to revoke his probation in a 1997 possession of cocaine case. Judge Means did approve Stroud's release on his own recognizance on the probation revocation case, according to his secretary.

The information in the probation revocation matter could have been entered under the wrong case number in the computer, causing it to appear that Stroud needed to post bond in just one case, Finn said.

It will require a search of county police archived records to determine what happened, he said.

Chief Deputy Prosecutor John Maciejczyk was shocked Monday to hear of the mistake. He emphasized his office would have opposed any reduction in Stroud's felony bonds.

The attempted murder charge against Stroud was dismissed at the time of Stroud's trial in May because of evidentiary problems, said the prosecutor.

"It was basically Stroud's word against the victim's," said Maciejczyk. "Stroud claimed the victim was burglarizing his home, and the victim claimed he went to buy drugs and was attacked."

The man told police he was beaten and that Stroud fired a gun at him but did not wound him.

A witness who supported the victim later recanted, leaving no other witnesses, Maciejczyk said.

Stroud had acted as his own lawyer, and jury selection had been completed before the charges were all dropped. At that time, he was not released from jail because he had not posted bond in his other pending cases.

In November 1999, another case with charges of dealing and possession of cocaine were dismissed against Stroud shortly before his trial dates. There is nothing in the records to explain the dismissal.

Stroud had been scheduled to go on trial Monday on three separate misdemeanor charges. A resisting law enforcement case is postponed until Oct. 17, and charges of battery and domestic violence are delayed until Jan. 17.

Stroud remains scheduled for trial Nov. 2 on 1999 felony cocaine charges.

http://www.southbendtribune.com/stories/thisday/local.20000919-sbt-MARS-A1-Alleged_gunman.sto

-- Doris (reaper@pacifier.com), September 19, 2000

Answers

This is the kind of computer goof we all expected to be wide-spread early this year.

-- Uncle Fred (dogboy45@bigfoot.com), September 19, 2000.

Actually it has been a widespread problem
since late last year.

-- spider (spider0@usa.net), September 19, 2000.

I agree with spider but the news articles are so meticulously worded, they seldom mention 'computer problems', so they are disregarded.

-- Doris (reaper@pacifier.com), September 19, 2000.

It happened in Eugene OR earlier in the year.
The man was accused of molesting a little girl.
It really caused a rukus in that community.
They caught him in another state about a month
later.

-- spider (spider0@usa.net), September 19, 2000.