Officials from the Allegheny County Jail and county Chief Executive Jim Roddey's office are disputing Sheriff Pete DeFazio's contention that four inmates were mistakenly released from jail within the past year.

A mistake occurred in one of the four cases cited by DeFazio yesterday and the inmate in that case was mistakenly sent from the jail to Mayview State Hospital in place of another inmate with the same name. When the error was discovered the next day, the two inmates, both named Anthony D. Green, were switched, said Margaret Philbin, Roddey's spokeswoman.

In addition to Green, three other inmates -- Kevin Cooper, Calvin Pearson and James Bradley -- were cited by DeFazio as instances in which inmates were mistakenly released by the jail.

However, records released by the jail and Roddey's office yesterday show none was released from the jail to the street.

The issue of mistaken inmate releases has received attention because of a standoff last week in Homewood in which two police officers were shot. Cecil Brookins, the Homewood man who was shot five times in that incident, was mistakenly released from the county jail in June 2000.

DeFazio yesterday said the problem of inmates being released by mistake is not the fault of the Sheriff's Department.

"Someone, somewhere is not doing their job," DeFazio said.

That somewhere is the county jail, he said.

Neither Warden Calvin Lightfoot nor Deputy Warden Ed Urban could be reached for comment yesterday, but Philbin said the problem seems to be less severe than DeFazio contends.

DeFazio last week said the jail mistakenly released 12 inmates each year, then he provided four examples. The county now contends that only one of the four examples resulted in the mistaken release of inmate to Mayview and that the problem was corrected the next day.

Roddey on Saturday, in response to Brookins' release, said he will appoint a task force to examine the problem, with representatives from the district attorney's office, sheriff, jail, probation and the court. The task force, chaired by former U.S. Attorney and state Attorney General Thomas Corbett Jr., will report back to Roddey in 45 days.

Meanwhile, Common Pleas Judge Robert E. Colville yesterday denied a motion that asked to have Brookins, 46, transferred to Mayview State Hospital for evaluation. Deputy District Attorney Daniel Fitzsimmons argued that Brookins first must be examined by psychiatrists from the jail's Behavior Clinic to determine his competence, which was to be done yesterday.

James Ecker, attorney for Brookins, also told Colville that Brookins had been transferred from the hospital to the jail too soon -- a day after the shootings -- and that his wounds were still bleeding.

Brookins is accused of shooting two police officers who had gone to his house on Hermitage Street after he resisted an attempt by detectives to serve a search warrant for drugs. He shot Cmdr. Dom Costa in the shoulder and officer Tom Huerbin three times, shots that were stopped by Huerbin's bullet-proof vest. Another officer then shot Brookins five times.

Ecker said Brookins' injuries include wounds to his arm, leg, buttocks and a grazing wound of the head. Ecker said that Brookins also remains disoriented.

Fitzsimmons produced a letter from a physician at the jail who wrote that Brookins is getting proper care for his wounds.

Colville said Ecker and Brookins' relatives could make arrangements to have another doctor visit and examine Brookins and the facilities available at the jail's infirmary where Brookins is housed. The family's doctor also would be required to file a written report to be made available to the prosecutor, Colville ruled.

Post-Gazette

-- Anonymous, February 27, 2002