Robstown prison faces unannounced inspections after inadvertent inmate release
By Jaime Powell
Posted December 18, 2009 at 1:23 p.m.
, updated December 18, 2009 at 1:23 p.m.

Mario Estrada Martinez is sought by federal authorities for illegal re-entry into the U.S.

CORPUS CHRISTI — A private detention facility in Robstown faces frequent, unannounced state inspections for 90 days after its inadvertent release of a convicted sex offender.

The Coastal Bend Detention Center did not violate state standards when Mario Estrada Martinez, 31, an undocumented immigrant from Matamoros, Mexico, mistakenly was released, but it is at risk of falling out of state compliance after corrections officers did not follow release procedures, according to a letter from the Texas Commission on Jail Standards obtained by the Caller-Times through an open records request.

In November, federal authorities asked the prison run by Lafayette, La.-based LCS Corrections to release Mario Estrada Antonio to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation. Instead Estrada Martinez, who was awaiting sentencing for illegal re-entry to the U.S., was released and deported. He was gone for three weeks before LCS corrections staff figured out they released the wrong prisoner.

In Mexico, where both prisoners are from, the middle name serves as last name, and the last name is the person’s maternal surname.

“Certainly an improperly released inmate is a liability to all parties involved,â€