Safeguard was in place to keep killer in Miami-Dade jail, feds say. Why was he freed?

Federal prisoner James Edward Daniels was transferred into a Miami-Dade County jail last Wednesday and released — erroneously — onto the streets by Saturday afternoon, court records show. After law enforcement officials on Monday made a public plea for help tracking down the “armed and dangerous” fugitive, it begs the question: why was a convicted South Florida kidnapper and killer, serving a life sentence, allowed to roam free?

Many are demanding answers, and the Miami Herald has found that detention procedures may not have been followed during his three-day stint at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

Daniels, 60, was found guilty of kidnapping and torturing Osmar Oliva, Julio Verdecia and Juan Gonzalez from an Opa-locka truck yard in December 2020. He and two other men killed Oliva and Gonzalez; Verdecia survived a gunshot wound to the head.

READ MORE: Man convicted in Opa-Locka drug murders, kidnapping erroneously freed from jail: MDSO

While the kidnapping and murder case was closed in March, with Daniels receiving four life sentences, he was still on the hook for drug charges out of Miami-Dade County. The effort to finally close that case triggered the fiasco that led to the erroneous release of Daniels over the weekend.

Procedure not followed?

In 2021, deputies arrested Daniels after finding cocaine and marijuana in his car, said Evan Hoffman, his attorney at the time. The ensuing drug case was well underway when it was sidelined by the federal kidnapping charges filed against Daniels two years later. With the federal case taking precedent, the comparatively minor drug case was put in limbo.

That was until Wednesday, when Daniels was transferred from federal custody by the U.S. Marshals Service and placed in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, so he could appear and finally settle his drug case, Hoffman said.

The Marshals Service also handed over a crucial piece of documentation that would keep Daniels in jail so he could return to prison — a federal detainer, officials with the Marshals Service confirmed to the Herald.

On Thursday, Daniels was convicted of possessing cocaine and driving under the influence. Circuit Court Judge Christine Hernandez credited Daniels with time served, forgoing any prison time on those charges, as he was already serving a life sentence on the federal charges, Hoffman said.

READ MORE: Cops seek killers who kidnapped, tortured and executed two truckers in Opa-locka

Somehow, court and jail records show that he was released Saturday despite the federal detainer, which should have returned him to the custody of the Marshals Service.

“I’ve been practicing law close to 28 years, I have seen errors being made because no one is perfect, but I would pretty much say this is a pretty big mess up,” Hoffman said.

Who exactly missed, ignored or put aside the federal detainer remains unclear. The Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department, who oversees the custody of jail inmates, has not commented on the federal detainer.

“A full internal affairs investigation is underway to review the circumstances surrounding this incident and any potential failures to follow departmental policy,” said Juan Diasgranados, spokesperson for the corrections department. He said the department “is committed to ensuring that those responsible for failing to follow policy are held accountable to the fullest extent possible.”

The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday the reward for information leading to Daniels’ capture was increased from $5,000 to $30,000.

‘Slip through the cracks’

Roy Kahn, a former prosecutor who has been a criminal defense attorney for four decades, said there a number of errors that may have allowed Daniels to slip through the cracks and walk out of jail.

“It’s certainly not the first time,” Kahn told the Herald. “It’s happened before.”

One red flag was the detainer, also known as a jail card, that explains the hold a prisoner may have so they can be returned to custody, Kahn said. But in Miami-Dade it is a physical paper document, not a computerized record.

So, if the judge does not see the card, Kahn said it’s possible he or she would tell the prisoner that he’s free to go once the case is closed. This scenario is more likely to occur in a physical courtroom, which was the case for Daniels, rather than inside a jail during a video court appearance, where several steps must be taken before an inmate is released.

The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office told the Herald Tuesday evening that Daniels needed to be physically present in the courtroom in order to enter a guilty plea and finally close the 2021 case.

“Did it not make the computer since he just arrived?” Kahn said.

Judge Christine Hernandez, who presided over Daniels’ case, could not be immediately reached to comment on the federal detainer.

The sheriff’s office asks anyone with information on Daniels’ whereabouts to call Homicide Detective C. Santos at (305) 471-2400. People can also submit an anonymous tip to Miami-Dade County Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477 or online at crimestoppers305.com.

This story was originally published October 1, 2025 at 6:49 AM.