HOUSTON (Covering Katy News) – Suspected murderer Justin "Justo" Tompkins, 21, was mistakenly released from the Harris County Jail on Thursday night after staff confused him with another inmate with the same last name, the sheriff's office said in a press release.
"Jail staff realized the mistake on Friday night, and the Sheriff's Office immediately launched a search," the release said. "Tompkins voluntarily returned to the jail to surrender around 8:40 p.m."
It's not known why it took a full day to realize the mistake and the Sheriff's Office is promising a full investigation.
Tompkins is accused of murdering 23-year-old Deon Pouncy, who was shot multiple times and died at a local hospital after being found unconscious on the floor of his apartment with a faint heartbeat.
According to court documents reviewed by Covering Katy News, Pouncy was known on the street as "The Magician" and "The Sage." Court documents say he was a marijuana and THC gummy dealer. Investigators say the suspects stole his stash of edible gummies, cannabis products infused with THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.
Investigators also found marijuana scattered around the location where "The Sage" was found bleeding out on the floor.
A second suspect, Osmin Antonio Zamora-Lopez, was also charged with capital murder in connection to the shooting. He and Tompkins were both students at Aldine ISD's Benjamin Davis High School at the time of the murder.
Surveillance video places the two men near the murder scene at the time of the murder. The school principal told investigators that Tompkins was not present at school on the day of the murder, and Lopez was absent for part of the day.
Other evidence against Tompkins and Zamora-Lopez includes statements from a man who was playing an online video game with Pouncy when the shooting occurred. He heard the murder over his headset. He said it happened between 9 a.m. and 9:15 a.m. on May 5, 2022. He said Pouncy received two phone calls as he listened through his headset, heard Pouncy say "what you need" which was "followed by three or four gunshots a few minutes later."
Tompkins has been held at the Harris County Jail on a $750,000 bond since December 2022.