Mistakenly Freed Convicted Attempted Murderer in Custody After Psych Ward Visit

Dexter Davis surrendered without resisting after he was recognized in the psychiatric ward at University of Miami Hospital

A convicted attempted murderer mistakenly released from Miami-Dade County Jail was back in custody Tuesday evening after he was recognized in the psychiatric ward at University of Miami Hospital.

Opa Locka resident Dexter A. Davis was convicted Monday of stabbing his ex-girlfriend 15 times with a foot-long butcher knife then released by accident Tuesday morning, setting off a multi-agency search by local and federal officials.

Miami police spokesman Willie Moreno said the 36-year-old was recognized in the hospital by a person who called police. He was not yet able to say why Davis was at the psychiatric ward at UM.

Davis surrendered without incident when confronted by officers and is already back in jail, Moreno said. His new inmate record now lists a charge of "escape" next to the words "NO BOND." 

A judge had ordered that Davis be held without bond while waiting to be sentenced on Dec. 9.

But court experts told NBCMiami that a corrections employee, apparently confused by an indication of time served on a less serious misdemeanor charge, applied the time served provision to all of the charges and released Davis at 9:35 a.m. Tuesday morning.

His freedom was granted despite hours-old convictions for attempted felony murder, aggravated battery, and violation of a restraining order/domestic violence.

"Public safety is of the utmost importance and we regret any concerns this incident has caused the citizens of Miami-Dade County," said Corrections spokesperson Janelle Hall Wednesday afternoon. "An investigation into the circumstances surrounding the release of inmate Dexter A. Davis is being conducted by the department's Internal Affairs Bureau."

Davis was initially arrested in 2009 by Opa Locka police after allegedly stabbing his former girlfriend 15 times in the apartment she shared with her children.

Officers found Davis inside the bloody apartment, with his ex-girlfriend lying in a back bedroom with near-fatal wounds and the butcher knife still embedded in her left arm, according to the arrest report.

The woman had a restraining order out against Davis at the time, police said.

He faces a possible life in prison for the attempted murder, but is first scheduled to appear in bond court on an escape charge on Thursday morning.

Contact Us