Manhunt expands for KCK attempted murder suspect mistakenly released from Missouri jail

Matti Gellman
·2 min read
2

Kansas City, Kansas police are helping search for a Platte County inmate who was mistakenly released from a Missouri jail while facing serious felony charges in Kansas.

Jae’veon Mitchell Locke, 21, was charged with attempted capital murder following an April 5 drug bust-turned-shooting in which three Kansas City, Kansas officers were shot and injured. While being held for unrelated warrants, Locke was erroneously released from jail Thursday.

It is still unclear how this happened and where he is, according to Nancy Chartrand, a spokeswoman for the Kansas City, Kansas, police.

“I’m sure that the chief had conversations about that earlier with [the Platte County Sheriff’s Office]. I don’t have any information regarding how that happened,” Chartrand said in response to The Star.

The department is teaming up with the U.S Marshals and Platte County authorities in the manhunt to find the 21-year-old, she said.

Locke is one of three suspects charged by the Wyandotte County District Attorney’s Office in the April 5 shooting, which began as an undercover fentanyl operation. Locke and the two other suspects in the case — Cornell Lance Jones Jr. and Samarion Ardel England — were charged with attempted capital murder, aggravated assault against an officer, aggravated child endangerment and fentanyl distribution.

Jae’veon Mitchell Locke, 21, was mistakenly released from Platte County jail Thursday after he had been charged by the Wyandotte County District Attorney’s Office for attempted capital murder in the April 5 shooting of three police officers.
Jae’veon Mitchell Locke, 21, was mistakenly released from Platte County jail Thursday after he had been charged by the Wyandotte County District Attorney’s Office for attempted capital murder in the April 5 shooting of three police officers.

The charges carry the possibility of a life sentence.

The Platte County Sheriff’s Office was not immediately available to respond to requests for comment Tuesday.

On Friday, the Platte County Sheriff’s Office said they were trying to determine why Locke was released.

“There are processes in place to prevent that kind of thing from happening,” said Maj. Erik Holland, a spokesman for the office in the Friday statement. “At this stage, I’m not going to speculate on how it occurred until that is completely reviewed. And obviously, our primary focus at this point is locating Mr. Locke and getting him back into custody.”

That same day, Kansas City, Kansas Police Chief Karl Oakman called the unintended release of Mitchell-Locke “unfortunate.”

“He is a dangerous individual who needs to be taken off the streets,” Oakman said, encouraging anyone who encounters him to contact law enforcement.

Authorities were asking that anyone with information concerning Mitchell-Locke’s whereabouts contact the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS, or if anyone sees him to dial 911.