‘Clerical error’ leads to murder defendant’s release from jail

CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - According to court records, a clerical error in court led to the release of a Mecklenburg County inmate facing a first degree murder charge.

Sergio Coello-Perez had a day and half of freedom that started Thursday morning. He had spent six months behind bars.

The case started back in May.

Police say Jonathan Castillo broke into a house on Elm Forest Drive and allegedly stole a number of items, including the spare key to a vehicle.

Investigators say Castillo and Coello-Perez later went back to the house to allegedly take the vehicle with the spare key but an anti-theft device stopped them from driving off.

Nicholas Boger was home, saw what was happening, went outside and police say that's when the suspects shot and killed him.

Police arrested the two and online jail records show there was a hold on Coello-Perez for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

But Thursday morning he was released from jail - with a written promise to appear in court and to wear 24-hour electronic monitoring.

A spokesperson for the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office says the “ICE hold was lifted” but she said “that’s not why Coello-Perez was released.”

According to a motion filed in court Friday, an Assistant District Attorney urged a judge to have the teen arrested again immediately.

The prosecutor wrote that “a previously unknown clerical error was made on May 21, 2018 that modified the condition of defendant’s bond from ‘Not Authorized’ to ‘Authorized’ with a written promise to appear based on the May 18, 2018 court appearance..

The judge signed the order.

Late Friday afternoon, Coello-Perez was back behind bars.

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