Williston, ND (trfnews.i234.me)—The Williams County Sheriff’s Office is under scrutiny after an individual posing as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent successfully removed an inmate from jail before law enforcement realized the deception.
Sheriff Varlan Kvande defended his department’s policies and procedures, calling the mistaken release a rare but unfortunate event.
“They take a lot of pride in what they do. I have not lost any trust for these individuals. They are very good at what they do,” Kvande said, emphasizing that his jail staff acted quickly to rectify the situation.
How It Happened
On Tuesday, Feb. 11, inmate Mauricio Mejia was told by jail staff that ICE was scheduled to pick him up.
Mejia called Shane Randall, who then arrived at the jail and falsely identified himself as an ICE agent.
Jail staff, accustomed to ICE agents arriving in plain clothes, failed to ask for credentials before releasing Mejia.
Minutes later, the real ICE agent arrived to pick up Mejia, only to find him already gone.
Within an hour, ICE located Mejia at his home in Williston, and authorities arrested Randall shortly afterward.
Sheriff’s Response
Sheriff Kvande acknowledged that his team made an error, but stressed that they acted immediately once they realized the mistake.
“They are already pretty disgusted with themselves, I think, and pretty dejected about what happened,” Kvande said.
Legal Consequences
Shane Randall has been charged with impersonating a law enforcement officer, which carries up to a year in jail if convicted. He has since posted a $3,000 bond.
Mauricio Mejia is currently being held at the Ward County Jail for ICE custody.
Sheriff Kvande said authorities are still investigating how Randall and Mejia knew each other, though it’s believed they may have been co-workers.
The Williams County Sheriff’s Office hopes this case serves as a wake-up call to ensure proper verification procedures in the future.
I’m Chris Harper, reporting for trfnews.i234.me