Bad News Gets Worse
Man mistakenly freed from jail suspected in machete-point robbery in downtown Dallas
A computer glitch that allowed 22 inmates to be released from the Dallas County Jail has seen quick repercussions. One of those inmates, Lavatray Polk, is suspected in a violent robbery in downtown Dallas involving a machete.
According to reports, Polk and another man used a machete to commit a robbery in the early morning hours of June 15 near the Akard DART station downtown.
Polk and 21 other inmates received a get-out-of-jail free card because of a technicality.
The men fled the scene with a stolen cell phone, and police captured Polk a short time later. He was booked into the Dallas County Jail around 4 am Sunday and is being held on a $100,000 bond for aggravated robbery and evading arrest.
Polk and 21 other inmates received a get-out-of-jail free card because of a glitch in the police department's transition to a new computer program on June 1.
Dozens of cases slipped through the cracks and were not filed with the district attorney's office during the mandatory 72-hour period after an arrest. Because no charges were filed, the inmates legally had to be released from custody once three days passed.
"We expected there would be a significant learning curve," police chief David Brown told the media. "There is no downtime to sit and train and learn. You have to do it all on the fly."
As of June 20, Polk was the only inmate affected by the glitch to be back behind bars.
