A man dubbed Baltimore's "No. 1 trigger puller," an alleged Black Guerrilla Family gang enforcer involved 12 killings, was mistakenly released from jail this week, but recaptured hours later, state officials say.
Montana Barronette, 21, of the 1100 block of Harlem Avenue who is being held on federal drug charges was released from the Baltimore Central Booking and Intake Center at 3 a.m. on Saturday, said Gerard Shields, a spokesman for the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, in an email.
Barronette was previously charged by Baltimore police with murder for the May 2014 killing of 23-year-old Alfonso Williams, and identified as one of the city's 238 "top trigger-pullers."
When Barronette was indicted on federal charges, the state dropped its charges against him, Shields said. The booking center employees were not aware of the indictment or federal detainer on Barronette, and released him.
Barronette was apprehended by federal agents at about 6:40 p.m. on Sunday in Reisterstown and taken to the Chesapeake Detention Center, Shields said.
Two booking center employees have been suspended, he said.
"Though erroneous releases are rare," Shields said, "we're taking the matter very seriously and our department investigation is continuing to ensure it doesn't happen."
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