Erie County Prison would like to clarify recent reports regarding the release of 27-year-old Dylan Bera, specifically headlines stating that he was “mistakenly released from the Erie County Jail” or that “Erie County mistakenly released” him.
Those headlines are misleading and do not accurately reflect the circumstances surrounding his release.
Mr. Bera was released from Erie County Prison after the charges against him in Erie County were dropped. At the time of his release, Erie County Prison had not received the Crawford County sentencing order indicating that Mr. Bera was required to remain in custody to begin serving a sentence in Crawford County.
Erie County Prison can only act upon the court orders and legal documentation that are properly provided to the facility. The Crawford County sentencing order was not provided or transmitted to Erie County Prison. The sentencing paperwork does not include Erie County Prison as a recipient, nor does it show that the order was copied to Erie County.
As a result, Erie County Prison had no notification that Mr. Bera was to remain in custody following the conclusion of his Erie County case. His release was therefore carried out based on the information and court documentation available to Erie County Prison at that time.
It is important to clarify that this was not an error by Erie County Prison in releasing Mr. Bera. The issue was that the appropriate Crawford County sentencing information was not provided to Erie County Prison.
Erie County Prison is requesting that the reporting on this matter be updated to include this factual information and to accurately reflect the circumstances surrounding Mr. Bera’s release. For any further explanation regarding the Crawford County sentencing order, including why it was not provided to Erie County Prison, questions should be directed to Crawford County Court officials.
Erie County Prison remains committed to following all applicable court orders and ensuring that inmates are held or released in accordance with the legal documentation properly received by the facility.
