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A suspected murderer who was mistakenly released from a California prison last year has been caught more than 2,000 miles away by the US Marshals Service, authorities said.
Isaiah Jamon Andrews, 20, was arrested Tuesday in St. Louis, Missouri, after months on the run following his accidental release from custody in October, Seattle police said Wednesday.
He is accused of shooting and killing Theodore Wheeler, 20, in Seattle’s Northgate neighborhood on October 15, 2025, authorities said.
Andrews was arrested days after the shooting in Antioch, California, after a traffic stop involving multiple law enforcement agencies and booked into the Contra Costa County Jail on a pending murder warrant.
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Isaiah Jamon Andrews, the suspected murderer, was released by mistake from a California prison before being caught months later by the US Marshals. (Seattle Police Department; Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office)
But days after his arrest, jail staff mistakenly released Andrews on Oct. 22, even though he was being held on local charges, a juvenile warrant out of Sacramento and an out-of-state homicide warrant related to the Seattle case, according to authorities.
The mistake was not discovered until Andrews had already left the facility, leading to a multi-agency search including the US Marshals Service.
He stayed for more than five months before he was found and arrested without incident in St. Louis, officials said. He is expected to be extradited to Washington state to face a murder warrant.
Authorities have not publicly explained how the release took place.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office for comment on what led to the error but did not receive a response.
Seattle Police Chief Sean Barnes acknowledged the mistake in October.
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US Marshals caught the suspect more than 2,000 miles away after more than five months. (Dominic Gwinn/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
“Definitely, it was a mistake that if they had to go back and do it all over again, they would have done something different,” Barnes told KUTV. “But I understand that he was released by accident, and they are working hard to get him back into custody.”
At the time, Andrews was facing local charges in California and had a juvenile warrant out of Sacramento County, according to officials.
For the family of the deceased, the mistake was very painful.
“I’m hurt, I’m hurt, I’m disappointed. I feel like they don’t care,” the victim’s mother told KING 5 Seattle after the mistake came to light. “No one has informed me.”
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Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office. Andrews was initially arrested after a car chase involving multiple law enforcement agencies and booked into the Contra Costa County Jail on a pending homicide warrant. (Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
He said he feared for his safety after hearing that the suspect had been released.
“They shouldn’t have someone on the field who would allow something like this to happen. “I want someone who will stand up and answer for himself. They put my family in danger.”
Fox News’ Stepheny Price contributed to this report.
