Prisoner freed by mistake back in jail

A prisoner who was freed by mistake last Friday is back at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Dartmouth.

Vernon Martell, 41, turned himself in Wednesday, the Department of Justice said in a release.

Martell was being held at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Dartmouth after being sentenced for theft under $5,000, when he was mistakenly let go on Friday.

Martell had been serving a conditional sentence in the community, but was sentenced to jail for breaching that sentence. The judgeordered him to serve the remainder of his sentence 84 days in custody.

The mistake, which the department is blaming on clerical errors, was not discovered until late Monday afternoon.

The public was not informed of the missing prisoner until after 6:30 p.m.Tuesday.

Justice spokesman Bruce Nunn said police had contacted Martell by phone on Monday, and he was supposed to turn himself in on Tuesday.

"We expected that to happen, and it didn't happen. So, yes, we should have informed people earlier, and we'll make efforts to make sure that we do that in future," Nunn said Tuesday.

About 10 other people in Nova Scotia have either escaped or been accidentally set free from custody since December 2007.