Murder suspect surrenders after being mistakenly released

William Otis Bryant Jr. was charged in February with first-degree murder in the 1999 death of Anthony Jaboin. At the time he was charged, Bryant was serving time for a 2009 conviction for selling drugs.

On April 2, he completed his sentence and was freed. However, he should have been turned over to the Wake County Sheriff's Office to be held while awaiting trial on the murder charges, according to state Department of Correction spokesman Keith Acree.

Bryant agreed to surrender after a call from his parents, said Phyllis Stephens, a spokeswoman for the sheriff's office. He was arrested at their Apex house shortly after 11 a.m. Thursday.

Acree said that the Department of Correction never received a detainer from any agency seeking custody of Bryant for the pending murder charge in Wake County. Other detainers for misdemeanor charges were verified as dismissed before Bryant was released, Acree said.

The department is investigating the circumstances of Bryant's release, and appropriate disciplinary action will be taken if procedures were not followed, he said.

Bryant's brother, Eric Reney Bryant, 39, is also charged in Jaboin's murder. He is being held in the Wake County Jail.

Jaboin, a cab driver, was shot in the parking lot of West Lake Elementary School, at 4499 West Lake Road, on Sept. 11, 1999. A woman passing the school heard a gunshot and reported it to police.