Santa Fe County deputies capture escaped jail inmate at hospital

Aug. 5—An inmate who was mistakenly released by the Santa Fe County jail Tuesday night after using another man's identity was recaptured about 24 hours later at the Presbyterian Santa Fe Medical Center on Beckner Road, authorities said.

Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said a vigilant hospital staff member recognized 35-year-old Jarrod Bearden and promptly alerted law enforcement.

Bearden was arrested around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in a treatment room, Mendoza said, and was taken into custody without incident.

He was returned to jail, the sheriff's office reported in its online daily incident log.

Mendoza said Bearden was trying to receive medical treatment at the hospital but declined to elaborate on his medical condition.

Officials said Bearden had tricked jail officials into letting him walk free Tuesday by misrepresenting his identity — which will net him additional charges, Mendoza said.

It was unclear how he was able to convince jail staff his identity matched that of another inmate.

Warden Derek Williams wrote in a statement Wednesday, "The failure to follow established protocols ... appears to have allowed this misrepresentation to go undetected and resulted in erroneous release."

The last time a mistaken release occurred at the jail was in April 2017, Williams wrote. Officials were conducting a review on Bearden's escape, he added, and looking into ways to prevent future occurrences — which could include retinal scanning and electronic fingerprint technology.

The sheriff's office began its search for Bearden near the jail before expanding to residences in the Santa Fe area associated with him, Mendoza said Wednesday before the inmate was found.

Deputies spoke with people at some of the homes who said they had recently seen Bearden.

"We were pretty much hot on his trail," Mendoza said.