By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – A Centralia man who should have been released from prison tomorrow for a nighttime burglary in which he exchanged gunfire with a business owner is among those mistakenly let out early because of a software coding error at the state Department of Corrections.
Todd R. Chissus was 30 years old when he was arrested in April 2004 several days after the break-in at Sunny Valley Sales on South Gold Street in Centralia.
Chissus was released on September 28 – more than three months too soon – but is now back in custody, according to to information released yesterday by the state Department of Corrections.
Last month, Gov. Jay Inslee revealed the discovery that as many as 3,200 offenders may have been released early over the course of 13 years.
The problem affected offenders with sentencing enhancements, who were over-credited with good time.
Early estimates from the governor’s office indicated the median number of days offenders were released from prison was 49 days before their correct release date.
As of yesterday, Chissus was among 77 individuals either apprehended or who turned themselves in and were returned to a correctional facility.
The governor last month ordered a halt to releases of potentially affected inmates, until a hand calculation was done to ensure their correct release date.
Also yesterday, DOC said at least 27 individuals committed new crimes during the time while they should have still been locked up.
Chissus was not on that list.
Eight of those 27 are alleged to have committed new felonies while out, including first-degree murder and vehicular homicide.
So far, prison officials have reviewed releases going back to Dec. 17, 2011. The computer error dates back to 2002.
Chissus was convicted in 2005 in Lewis County Superior Court of first-degree burglary with a firearm enhancement.
Nobody else convicted in Lewis County is shown on the documents currently available from the ongoing review.
DOC first learned there was a problem in 2012 and began the process of a sequencing fix, but for reasons undergoing an independent investigation, the repair was repeatedly delayed.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
Public officials are a joke. They cant do basic math.
It’s not their fault they got out early, but it is their fault they have a sentence to serve, and should finish doing so.
These people should not have to return to jail. It is the government’s useless software that let them out. I think that any inmates that are released and have to return to prison over this should file a 1983 civil rights lawsuit against the Washington State Department of Corrections. It isn’t their fault that their system didn’t work properly.