‘If they let you go today, don’t leave,’ judge tells Hamilton inmate mistakenly released from Barton Street jail

A Hamilton inmate who was accidentally let out early from jail last month has pleaded guilty to being unlawfully at large.

Shawn Delaney was mistakenly released from the Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre on March 7.

Assistant Crown attorney Rose Branton said in court Thursday the 46-year-old was aware he had more time to serve and intentionally evaded police. Court records obtained by The Spectator show Delaney was convicted on multiple offences - including choking, and breaking and entering - on the same day he was released. He was supposed to return to the Barton Street jail to serve the remaining 33 days of his sentence, but instead was released.

Delaney was advised to turn himself in ... and failed to do so," Branton said.

Hamilton police worked with the provincial repeat offender parole enforcement (ROPE) squad to located Delaney, arresting him on March 14 around Queenston Road and Main Street East.

In a joint submission, Branton and defence lawyer Asgar Manek proposed a sentence of 15 days.

He got the punishment by getting the notoriety," Manek said of the media attention Delaney received following his release.

The judge accepted the proposed sentence.

I have no problem with it," replied Justice Michael Wendl, turning to address the accused. You should have turned yourself in earlier, but quite frankly the jail ... what do they expect when they say, You can go'?"

Some confusion about when his original sentence ended prompted Wendl to ask staff to confirm with the jail before he imposed another one.

Mr. Delaney, you know what we don't want to do today? Release you when we're not supposed to," Wendl said.

Delaney laughed from the prisoner's box: You call the shots," he told the judge.

Accounting for time served, Delaney's sentence amounted to nine more days.

If they let you go today, don't leave," Wendl told him.

In about five decades as a criminal lawyer, most of those in Ontario, this is the first time he's ever encountered this type of error, Manek told The Spec.

Manek believes the manhunt" for his client was poor use of police resources. Delaney has roots" in Hamilton, having lived in the city for 38 years, he said. His mother and girlfriend also live here. Given this, police would have picked him up eventually, he said.

Drug and mental health issues have derailed Delaney, Manek said. But his rehabilitation prospects are strong, he added. He has a certificate in construction from Mohawk College, and worked for years, including seven at National Steel Car, prior to incarceration.

Kate McCullough is an education reporter at The Spectator. kmccullough@thespec.com