Metro Atlanta
Metro Atlanta

Murderer on way to prison mistakenly released from DeKalb jail

Javoris Hurston
Javoris Hurston
By Ellen Eldridge
Feb 23, 2018

When a murder victim’s family saw the convicted killer on the streets, they knew something went wrong.

That’s when jail officials realized Javoris Hurston was mistakenly released from the DeKalb County jail, Channel 2 Action News reported.

Hurston was originally arrested in Fulton County on a murder charge related to Barry Hawkins, a 51-year-old who was shot to death on Ira Street in Atlanta in May 2015.

RELATED: DeKalb girl struck by car on way to bus dies

Shortly after Hurston was released on bond, he was arrested in DeKalb County on aggravated assault charges, officials said. He remained in the DeKalb jail until last June, when he was sent to court in Fulton County and pleaded guilty to murdering Hawkins, Channel 2 reported.

He received a 20-year prison sentence, but returned to DeKalb to face the aggravated assault charges. Those charges were dropped during a Feb. 15 hearing and jail officials let Hurston go, the news station reported.

When Hawkins’ family members alerted the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office, the jail realized what happened. A fugitive unit captured Hurston a few days later and returned him to jail, Channel 2 reported.

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