SAN ANTONIO – A female inmate being held on a misdemeanor DWI charge last month was accidentally sent to a mental health facility after Bexar County Jail officers confused her with another inmate with the same name, officials confirmed to the KSAT 12 Defenders Monday.
Inmate Amanda Garcia was released to the county's Mentally Ill Offenders Facility (MIOF) on August 30 after an error by releasing officers and booking supervisors, according to a BCSO spokeswoman.
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After the mistake was discovered August 31, Garcia was brought back to the jail.
READ MORE: Another improper inmate release prompts another internal affairs investigation
Hours later, a second inmate named Amanda Garcia was correctly released to MIOF custody.
Court records show she had been held in connection to a 2017 conviction for possessing drugs in a drug-free zone.
A BCSO spokeswoman released the following statement Monday morning:
BCSO Internal Affairs has initiated an administrative investigation into this incident, while disciplinary action for the staff who were involved in this incident is forthcoming.
BCSO officials also confirmed that the Texas Commission on Jail Standards has been notified of the incident.
RELATED: All 3 men were charged with violent felonies. Bexar County let them out for free.
The gaffe is the latest mistake in a string of accidental releases at the jail this year.
In January, an inmate ordered to go into an in-patient drug counseling program was instead sent to a state prison.
Detention officers have also released inmates prior to their GPS monitors being installed, and the agency blamed the San Antonio Police Department for another mistaken release.
Sheriff Javier Salazar drew criticism from members of the agency last month when he suggsted during an interview with the Defenders that some of the erroneous releases could be sabotage by frustrated jail staff.
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