LEBANON — A Warren County commissioner chastised the sheriff Tuesday in the wake of the second foul-up at the jail that allowed release of a domestic violence prisoner.

        When the father of a woman who was killed in a similar mix-up demanded an explanation, Commissioner Mike Kilburn told him Sheriff Tom Ariss was to blame.

        “You guys have got to get your act together and decide who gets released and who doesn't,” Mr. Kilburn chided the sheriff.

        “Everyone should know whether you let a guy out or you don't.”

        Mr. Kilburn's comments came in a meeting Tuesday with Suzie Thompson's family, who received a $610,000 settlement and promises of change after Ms. Thompson was gunned down Dec. 1, 1999, by an ex-boyfriend who was freed from jail even though the probation department had ordered him held.

        “It was the same situation almost that happened with my daughter,” Ivon Desfosses, father of Suzie Thompson, said of the release of David Brian Richardson. “Thank God no one was hurt this time.”

        In the latest incident, on March 16, a jail supervisor released Mr. Richardson, 40, of Mason, in what sheriff's officials now say was a mistake caused by confusing paperwork in his inmate file.

        Mr. Richardson was supposed to be held on a probation violation stemming from a 1999 domestic violence conviction involving his estranged wife, Angela Richardson of Lebanon.

        He was jailed on the violation in November after Mrs. Richardson alleged he was stalking her. A grand jury charged Mr. Richardson with a weapons violation (as a convicted felon, he was not allowed to own a gun) and for violating a court order to stay away from Mrs. Richardson.

        His release was triggered when he posted a $5,000 bond on that case and a guard misinterpreted a form allowing work release privileges on the case involving the probation violation, Sheriff Ariss said.

        Mr. Richardson surrendered at the jail five days after his release. On Tuesday, a judge revoked his work release privileges and his bond.

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