The State : Court Snafu Frees Convict

In an embarrassing legal snafu, a major San Francisco Bay Area cocaine dealer who had served only five months of a 45-year sentence in federal prison in Texas has accidentally been set free. Douglas Costa, 43, of Fairfax, Calif., was to appear in San Francisco Municipal Court to stand trial on additional drug charges involving the arrest three years ago of his son, but was released on bail by a judge who did not know he was a federal prisoner. Court records show Costa appeared before Municipal Judge William Mallen on Nov. 20 after being brought to the Bay Area from Texas by U.S. marshals and turned over to sheriff’s deputies. None of the booking records indicated there was a federal hold on the prisoner, and Mallen, believing the man had no previous criminal record, ordered his bail reduced from $1 million to $200,000. An unknown person posted bail and Costa was released Dec. 2. “It’s pretty embarrassing for everyone concerned,” said prosecutor Bob Ring.