A criminal fugitive was mistakenly set free from prison due to a mix-up in his sentencing paperwork. William Smith, also known as Billy, was handed a 45-month prison term for multiple fraud crimes at Croydon Crown Court. However, an administrative error led to his premature release as a different sentence was erroneously recorded under his name. Authorities are now actively searching for Smith to return him to custody.
During the sentencing, Smith was accompanied by a co-defendant named Joseph Smith, who received a suspended sentence and was allowed to go free as he appeared in court in person while on bail. In contrast, Billy was in custody at HMP Wandsworth and received a custodial sentence via video link. Regrettably, the digital system mistakenly recorded Billy as receiving a suspended sentence, triggering his premature release.
Efforts were made to rectify the error promptly, but a subsequent mistake led to the incorrect notification of the error to the wrong individual. Consequently, Billy was released in error before the correction could be implemented. Surrey Police have issued an appeal to locate Billy Smith, 35, who was mistakenly released. Described as last seen wearing specific clothing, Smith has ties to Woking but may be anywhere in Surrey.
In a separate incident, Algerian national Brahim Kaddour Cherif was also erroneously released from HMP Wandsworth, prompting urgent efforts to locate him. Stay informed about UK politics with our daily email briefing.
