MEMPHIS, Tenn. - A man sentenced to life in prison for murder was released by mistake from the Shelby County Jail in Memphis.
Shelby County Sheriff's Office spokesman Steve Shular said an investigation is under way to determine how 21-year-old Dearick Stokes was released on Thursday evening.
The Commercial Appeal reported that Stokes was awaiting transfer to the state prison system when prosecutors dismissed an earlier domestic assault charge since he already had a life sentence.
Moments before a jury found him guilty of murder during his trial in February, Stokes told his attorney he was going to the bathroom and left the courthouse. He was captured in March hiding in a Memphis home.
Shular said they were making every possible effort to find him.