Baltimore Murder Convict Mistakenly Released, Recaptured Two Weeks Later

Dana Davenport walked out of the Baltimore City Detention Center on March 3 a free man. He had no right to be.

Davenport, 32, was convicted in January 2024 for his role in the murder of 37-year-old Tyrone Walker in Southwest Baltimore. Walker was shot in the 200 block of South Loudon Avenue, and medics transported him to an area hospital where he later died. Davenport's conviction was later reversed on appeal and sent back to circuit court for retrial, and a judge ordered that he be held without bail at the Baltimore City Detention Center pending the new proceeding.

The Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services mistakenly released Davenport on March 3. Officials said it remains unclear why he was released. A warrant for his arrest was issued on March 17, fourteen days after he walked out. Upon learning Davenport was facing murder charges, the Sheriff's Office made his case a priority, and he was taken back into custody; he is currently being held at the Baltimore City Detention Center.

The episode is not the first time Baltimore's detention system has let a murder suspect slip through. In October 2014, Rodriguez Purnell, 30, was mistakenly released by corrections employees and remained free for six days. No one at the prison realized the mistake for two days until someone in the murder victim's family called to report Purnell had been spotted on the streets. In that case, the Department of Corrections suspended one employee, calling the release "a lapse in release procedures," and promised a full investigation into whether the error was the result of a single employee's failure to follow established policy. Jail officials said the Baltimore State's Attorney's Office would decide whether Purnell would face additional charges as a result of his mistaken release.

A more recent incident followed a similar pattern. A young person awaiting a murder trial was mistakenly released after the Circuit Court clerk's office erroneously marked the charges as dismissed. The Baltimore City Sheriff's Office arrested the individual less than 24 hours after a warrant was issued. In a joint statement at the time, Sheriff Sam Cogen called it "highly problematic that a defendant awaiting trial on murder charges was erroneously released from state custody," while State's Attorney Ivan J. Bates said the episode "highlights the importance" of collaboration between his office, the Sheriff's Office, and the court system.

In the Davenport case, no explanation for the release has been made public, and it is not known whether any employee has been placed on leave or whether an internal investigation has been launched. No retrial date for Davenport has been set.