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A 29-year-old convicted criminal walked out of a Florida prison last week after he was accidentally released decades early and enjoyed four days of freedom before turning himself into U.S. Marshals on Monday, authorities said.
Cedrick Gant's accidental freedom stemmed from a paperwork mix-up when he was transferred from the Lake County Jail to the Brevard County Jail to face sentencing for several misdemeanor charges, Lake County Sheriff’s Office Lt. John Herrell told FOX35.
An employee in Lake County misread Gant’s paperwork and crossed off that he was on a hold by U.S. Marshals, Herrell said. The mistake allowed a judge to release Gant for time served on Thursday, the Orlando Sentinel reported, citing court records.
“He did that without realizing that he had already been sentenced to 23 years on those federal charges, so it’s definitely a human mistake,” said Herrell.
Cedrick Gant, 29, tried to carjack two separate victims in the 2017 crime spree, reports said. (Brevard County Sheriff's Office)
In February, Gant had already been sentenced to 23 years in federal prison after pleading guilty last year to carjacking and branding a semi-automatic assault weapon, the Sentinel reported.
The “human mistake” didn’t sit well with Scott Young, who told FOX35 that Gant had carjacked him at gunpoint outside his home in 2017 while his wife and son were inside the house.
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“Nobody knows what he could have done,” Young said. “He got a get-out-of-jail-free-card. He could have went on a free for all. It could have been a lot worse than what it was. I’m very glad nothing else happened.”
Authorities in both counties said there will be an investigation into how Gant was released.
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