A man is speaking out exclusively to WDSU after he said the Orleans Justice Center was supposed to release him last week, but they mistakenly released Khalil Bryan instead.
WDSU Reporter Shay O’Connor was live from the Orleans Justice Center on the situation.
The man did not want his identity revealed because he still has an open case, but said he shared the same last name as Khalil Bryan. O’Connor referred to the man as “Mr. Bryan.”
He told her he was just thankful to finally be out of jail.
“I got bonded out around 5 p. I was told you will be out by about 1 a.m. or 10 o’clock. I was waiting for them to come and get me, but no one came.”
Bryan said after spending about 20 days in jail on what he calls a minor offense, his mother paid $2,000 to bond him out.
He was excited to potentially be released Thursday or Friday morning.
“I heard microphones and folks walking around the pod. But no one came to my cell. I figured, ‘Well, maybe later in the morning.’ I woke up. Still nothing.”
He later found out he was listed as “released” on paperwork.
“I called my mom and asked what happened. She called them, and they told her your son got let out last night around 1 a.m.”
His mom was equally stunned.
She said, “I kept calling, like, why? He was bonded out and he’s not out. Like why?”
The 20-year-old, who stands about 5 foot 6 and smaller in stature, was mixed up with Khalil Bryan, who city officials said is about 330 lbs and well over 6 feet tall. He said Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office officials even went as far as giving Khalil his shoes and clothes when he was released.
“The dude came to me and said, they have your clothes. I was like y’all seriously let this big man take my clothes? Y’all didn’t realize that’s not his stuff? I was like, no way y’all let him go. No way.”
Bryan said it added insult to injury that he sat in jail longer until everything was sorted out.
“It took an extra day. And I was just in there. They didn’t want to let me out because of their mistakes.”
The 20-year-old said the entire situation has led him to decide he needs to make some changes in life.
“I do not want to go close to a police station ever again. It was a lesson learned and one I don’t want to learn again.”
Mr. Bryan’s bail agent with Operation Restoration said:
“The bond was posted between 5 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 24. On average, clients are released late that same evening. Around 9 a.m. or 9:30 a.m. on Friday, July 25, the organization was notified that the client had not been released. Then, around 12:30 p.m. that same day, OPSO requested that we come fill out a new bond instrument, confirming that the wrong person had been released. The client we bailed out of jail was finally released later that evening, nearly 21 hours after the bond was originally posted. While we are grateful that our client was released the next day, the inadequacy of other people should not keep anyone in jail longer than they should.”
Khalil Bryan remains on the loose. If you know anything about his whereabouts, or the whereabouts of Derrick Groves, who remains on the loose following the May 16 jailbreak, please call Crime Stoppers at 504-822-1111.
READ MORE:Exclusive: NOLA man who was supposed to be released in Orleans jail mix-up with Khalil Bryan speaks
