By Adam Ferrise
The Plain Dealer
CLEVELAND — Cuyahoga County Jail employees released three inmates by mistake in one day, officials said.
All three were released on June 13 and faced misdemeanor charges. Two face domestic violence charges and the other a charge of assault, according to court records.
Authorities arrested one of the men five days later, another was issued a summons to appear in court at a later date, and the third remains at-large, according to county and court records.
Cuyahoga County spokeswoman Mary Louise Madigan said she is unsure how the inmates ended up released from the jail. She said officials launched an internal investigation to find out what happened.
All three pleaded not guilty to their charges during hearings on June 13.
Blake Davis, 31, is charged with domestic violence and was supposed to be held on a $5,000 bond that he never posted, according to court records. He bit a woman who is seven months pregnant while she tried to call the police, court records say.
Steven McClarin, 21, of Cleveland punched a 33-year-old woman in the head and face several times on Community College Avenue, police said. Cleveland Municipal Judge Emanuella Groves set his bond at $5,000. Court records show he never paid the bond, and Groves issued him a summons to appear in court on June 30.
Michael Irby Jr., 25, is charged with domestic violence, accused of punching a woman in the jaw and face, kicking her in the stomach and ribs and choking her with both hands, according to court records. A judge set his bond at $10,000. He remains at large.
The jail in recent years struggled with releasing inmates by mistake. Jail employees erroneously released four inmates in six months between April and October 2019, including a man accused of murder.
Officials blamed technology issues or miscommunication between the jail, prosecutors and courts in three of the cases. They fired a corrections officer for another mistaken release, saying that she did not review paperwork properly.
Another inmate escaped the jail in September 2019. Three jail officers were suspended without pay for several days in that incident.
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