Two deputies reprimanded in mistaken release of YCDC inmate

York County Sheriff Bruce Bryant has reprimanded two deputies in the erroneous release of convicted murderer Thomas Aaron Whitlock in late February.

In a statement today from the Sheriff’s Office, Captain Allen Brandon and Deputy Grady Gonzales were reprimanded for failing to communicate transport instructions and allowing Whitlock to use the telephone during the transport.

In a statement, Sheriff’s Office attorney Kristie Jordan said 27-year veteran Capt. Allen Brandon was reprimanded for failure to, “communicate transport instructions that were sufficiently detailed to avert the possibility of this occurrence.”

Deputy Grady Gonzales, who’s been employed with the agency since 2008, was reprimanded after he, “violated policy by allowing an inmate [Whitlock] to talk to another person by telephone. This violation was identified during the investigation into the erroneous release of Thomas A. Whitlock.  This policy violation, however, did not contribute in any way to the erroneous release.”

Whitlock is now in a Windsor, North Carolina prison serving the remainder of his 14-year prison sentence.