Mistakenly freed, murderer hunted

— Authorities in Illinois and Indiana searched Friday for a convicted murderer who was mistakenly released after a Chicago court appearance.

Steven Robbins, 44, was serving a 60-year sentence for murder in Indiana and was taken to Chicago this week in a separate case involving drug and armed-violence charges - a case that a prosecutor revealed Friday had actually been dismissed in 2007.

After appearing before a Cook County circuit judge, Robbins was taken to the Cook County jail on Chicago’s South Side and was released hours later instead of being sent back to Indiana to continue his murder sentence. The public was not alerted that he was on the loose for about 24 hours.

Federal and local law-enforcement officers searching for Robbins were knocking on doors Friday in Illinois and Indiana, including those of his friends and relatives, Bilecki said.

The FBI and U.S. Marshals Service offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to his apprehension.

Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez on Friday raised the possibility that though the charges in Illinois were dismissed, a clerical error might have kept law-enforcement authorities from seeing that the arrest warrant had been quashed.

Robbins had written several letters to the court demanding to face trial, she said.

Once in Chicago, Robbins appeared Wednesday before a judge who made it clear on the record that he no longer had any pending case in Illinois and still had time to serve in Indiana, Alvarez said.

As far as his release, the Cook County sheriff’s office suggested that also might have involved a clerical error.

Front Section, Pages 2 on 02/02/2013

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