Human error caused Ozark robbery suspect to be released

OZARK - A man wanted in connection to a home invasion robbery here last month was arrested and released at least one time in another state after warrants were issued for his arrest.

Benjamin Carroll, 19, is now in custody. He was arrested by authorities in Alfred, Maine, to face charges of robbery, burglary and kidnapping in Ozark following what began as an alleged attempt to sell magazines to an elderly Ozark couple on Skipperville Road on May 20.

Carroll was first arrested in Portland, Maine, on Tuesday and charged with six others for attempting to sell magazines without a license. He was released because his name was not listed with the National Crime Information Center, a database law enforcement uses to check outstanding warrants.

Ozark Police Chief Tony Spivey said it appears an operator with the E-911 call center in Ozark deleted Carroll from the NCIC earlier after Gwinnett County, Ga., authorities called for Carroll’s information. She did not confirm whether he was in Georgia’s custody before deleting him from the system.

When a supervisor went to enter additional charges on Carroll in NCIC on Wednesday, she discovered there was no information in the system on Carroll before an arrest Tuesday in Portland.

Ozark police then called the U.S. Marshal’s service and law enforcement in Maine, which re-arrested Carroll and charged him with being a fugitive from justice.

He is expected to waive his rights for extradition and be placed in Dale County Jail within the next couple of days.

“We are certainly lucky on the timing. All indications show the error (with NCIC) was human, but it’s an error we can not afford in law enforcement. E-911 is not a law enforcement entity, but they have a huge responsibility. I am certainly concerned about this but I don’t believe this is something that happens often,” Spivey said.

Dale County Sheriff’s Investigator Tim Byrd, who is chairman of the E-911 board, said the error occurred when Georgia authorities called as if they had Carroll in custody. It was protocol for the operator to delete Carroll from the system after receiving a call from another agency.

“What usually happens is an agency calls to say they have someone in custody. It turned out Georgia was only calling because (Carroll) was supposed to be in Georgia the next day for court, not because they had him in custody. If there was any error, it was on both ends - one because the operator didn’t ask enough questions and two because Georgia didn’t say specifically what they were calling for,” Byrd said.

“But in the end, this man is in custody. Everyone involved in the home invasion is now in custody, and that’s what matters.”

Carroll was the last of five Dothan residents charged as part of the robbery. Also charged are Derek McGhee, 21, Shaketa McGhee, 24, and Travis Marshall, 16, each for two counts of first-degree robbery and a single count each of first-degree kidnapping. Police also charged 25-year-old Rodney J. Whigham with two counts of first-degree robbery.

At least one of the suspects tied the elderly man to a chair with duct tape. The woman later untied her husband. The five people were charged with stealing antique collectable coins, more than $1,000 in cash and six handguns.

If convicted, they could face up to life in a state prison.

Spivey said he was not sure why Carroll was in Maine.

“I will say we were surprised he was in Maine. As far as we know he has no relatives there,” Spivey said. “We had information he had relatives in Philadelphia, so we had concentrated our efforts on the area between here and there.”