Clerical Error Leads to Violent Criminal's Escape, Massive Manhunt in New Orleans
There is uneasiness in the Big Easy after an inmate with a violent criminal record was set free in error on Friday.
Khalil Bryan, 30, was released from the New Orleans jail instead of a person with the same last name who was supposed to be freed, Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson said Friday, according the Times-Picayune.
Bryan was being held on a $125,000 bond for not appearing at his arraignment and faces charges including aggravated assault with a firearm.
Another big mistake…a manhunt is underway after an inmate was released by mistake at the Orleans Parish Jail, the same New Orleans jail ten inmates escaped from in May.
Khalil Bryan was released as result of a clerical error due to two inmates having the same last name. pic.twitter.com/cLGAdpz5FG
— KTRH News (@ktrhnews) July 26, 2025
In 2023, Bryan was charged with aggravated flight and aggravated criminal damage to property over an incident in which a Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office car was rammed after a high-speed pursuit.
Bryan’s release came weeks after 10 inmates broke out of the Orleans Parish jail. One inmate remains on the loose.
The NOLA Ready alert system sent city residents a message saying a manhunt for Bryan was taking place.
“I want to make a sincere apology to the people of New Orleans,” Hutson said, according to ABC. “The mistaken release of Khalil Bryan was a serious error, and as sheriff, I take full responsibility.”
Hutson did not have details of the mistake as of Friday afternoon and said staff on duty at the time Bryan was released are being questioned.
“We’ll find out exactly what did happen, because we don’t know until we talk to them,” she said. “We know that there were similar last names. That’s all that we know.”
Disciplinary action “will be forthcoming,” she said.
Khalil Bryan is now considered a fugitive after being mistakenly released from the Orleans Justice Center. Officials say the release was due to a clerical error. A manhunt is underway.
Click for more:https://t.co/Gj6Kvyc7vw pic.twitter.com/EkYs82VN9r
— WWL-TV (@WWLTV) July 26, 2025
“This should not have happened,” she said. “It was a failure of internal processes, and the public has every right to expect better.”
Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams said that the mistaken release was “a deeply troubling incident that underscores the ongoing systemic issues surrounding the exercise of custody and control over detained individuals.”
He added, “The failure to properly confirm the identity of an inmate prior to release is an unacceptable lapse that presents a real and immediate risk to public safety.”
New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick had a message for Bryan, according to WWL-TV.
“Even though it was a mistaken release from custody, you are on notice — you are a fugitive,” Kirkpatrick said.
“I’m gonna ask that you turn yourself in. You and others who may be harboring him at this moment, will be subject to prosecution yourself because you are on notice,” she added.
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