Vetal Bonhomme

Vetal Bonhomme

By PIERRE BONNY wpix.com

3:34 p.m. EDT, July 21, 2009
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. (WPIX)—
Police have arrested a man who spent four days on the lam after being accidentally released from the Westchester County jail.

Vetal Bonhomme, who also goes by "Jerome" and "Rome," was arrested Tuesday afternoon, at an apartment in New Rochelle by an array of law enforcement officers which consisted of officials from the Department of Corrections, the New Rochelle Police Department and the U.S. Marshal's Task Force.

The Department of Corrections Special Investigation Unit teamed up with Westchester County Police to apprehend Bonhomme who was mistakenly released from prison on Friday after completing a jail sentence for a parole violation.

On January 27, Bonhomme was arrested for a fatal Jan.6 shooting in Mount Vernon. He was later indicted on a charge of second-degree murder and bail was set at $175,000 in Westchester County Court. He was sent to the jail and was expected to make an appearance on an Aug. 19 court date.

Bonhomme completed the probation violation sentence on July 17, 2009, and was prematurely discharged from prison without posting bail on the pending Mount Vernon charge.

Two corrections officers allowed Bonhomme to be freed from prison even though he did not post the $175,000 bail for the murder charge.

Correction Officer John Gray and Sgt. Kenneth Meade were suspended after an internal investigation revealed they did not follow proper protocol, which resulted in the release of Bonohomme.

Sgt. Meade was the booking supervisor assigned to the shift when Bonhomme was released and Gray was working in the booking area, officials said.

Westchester County Department of Corrections Commissioner Joseph Spano said he will file disciplinary charges seeking to have both men fired.