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Hillsborough Inmate's Inadvertent Release Under Review

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TBO.com

Published: January 2, 2009

TAMPA - The director of Hillsborough County's jails has opened a formal inquiry to review how an inmate was released for a few hours Wednesday on a paperwork error.

Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office Col. Jim Previtera said today he wants to know "whether there was any error on our part" regarding the release of Lawrence Campanello, 50.

Campanello is at the Orient Road Jail today, serving a consecutive sentence of 120 days on robbery and petit theft charges. He was released for a few hours Wednesday after a section in the documents indicating concurrent sentences was marked with a check, Previtera said.

A relative called the sheriff's office soon after Campanello's release to inform deputies the man still had 60 days left on his sentence. Detectives found Campanello at his Egypt Lake home, where "he basically said, 'Hey, guys, are you looking for me?' " Previtera said.

Today, Previtera said he thought at first there had been miscommunication between the jail and the Clerk of Court. But after an initial review of the documents, he requested the formal inquiry "to review how the file was handled."

Because of the confidentiality of such internal investigations, he could not elaborate.

The investigation will take a few weeks, Previtera said.

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