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Captured: Mistakenly released Baltimore murder suspect

BALTIMORE -- Six days after corrections employees released a suspect by mistake, the alleged murderer is back behind bars, reports CBS Baltimore.

Police say they found 30-year-old Rodriguez Purnell Thursday, just blocks away from the scene of the West Baltimore murder in which he's charged.

The March 2013 murder of Terrence Rheubottom, 27, was within feet of Purnell's last known home address, reports the station.

Authorities haven't released any details about Purnell's arrest, including where he was hiding, and it's still not clear how he was set free to begin with.

But Terrell Rheubottom, the murder victim's brother, was outraged to learn that Purnell was mistakenly released from prison last Friday.

"Ain't no way in the world you could just let somebody slip out of your hands like that," Rheubottom said.

The Department of Corrections has already suspended one employee over what they called "a lapse in release procedures."

It promised a full investigation to examine "whether this was simply the result of one employee's failure to adhere to established policies."

No one at the jail, the Maryland Reception, Diagnostic and Classification Center, even realized the mistake for two days until someone in the murder victim's family called to report Purnell had been spotted on the streets.

Court records indicate Purnell is set for a retrial on the murder charge, which is set for November 19.

Jail officials say the Baltimore State's Attorney's Office will decide whether Purnell will face any additional charges as a result of his mistaken release.

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