CHICAGO — UPDATE: NBC Chicago reported on Thursday afternoon that Sleeper has been reprehended.
From NBC Chicago:
At around 12 p.m. Thursday, Sleeper was apprehended by authorities, according to the Cook County Sheriff’s Office. Details were not available around the circumstances of his capture, but police say he was taken into custody without incident.
The Chicago Tribune on Thursday reported that Shane Sleeper, 31, who had been accused of threatening gay bars in Chicago, as released on Tuesday night.
The newspaper reported that the release was accidental and that Sleeper is still at large.
From the Tribune:
Sleeper was arrested in February and initially charged with misdemeanor charges of obstructing and resisting a peace officer, according to Cara Smith, policy chief for Cook County Sherif Tom Dart. In one of his threats, Sleeper allegedly said “Orlando will come to Chicago,’’ an apparent reference to the mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla.
On Tuesday, the misdemeanor charges were dismissed and felony charges of state terrorism, hate crime and harassment were filed against Sleeper, according to state’s attorney’s office spokesman Robert Foley. Sleeper was ordered held without bail.
Smith said the sheriff’s office only knew of the misdemeanor charges being dismissed, not about new felony charges being filed against Sleeper. So he was released.
“Preliminarily, it appears that the only cases he was being held on were dismissed and the sheriff’s office was never notified of any additional charges that were brought,’’ Smith said. “We were never notified. Our phones are on 24 hours a day. We complied with the only court order we received.”
But Foley countered that the sheriff’s office is responsible for custody of defendants.
“Mr. Sleeper was in custody when the sheriff’s office brought him to court yesterday,’’ Foley said in emailed statement. “He was arraigned in a felony trial court room, where he was assigned a no bail status and left in the custody of the sheriff’s office.”
The Tribune reported that his last address was on the Chicago northside. Sleeper was described as white, 5-foot-11, weighing about 185 pounds. If you see him, call 911.