St. Louis County officials give their side of the release of recent escapee
Michael Todd Hart
DULUTH, Minn. – Sheriff Gordon Ramsay and County Attorney Kim Maki released a joint statement about the jail release of Michael Todd Hart.
On January 21, Hart was released from the Itasca County Jail. Hart was the subject of a large manhunt when he walked away from the Northeast Regional Corrections Center (NERCC) approximately four months prior.
Hart called FOX 21 to tell us that he was released, but did not want to get into trouble for a paperwork mistake. He said the entire thing is shocking to him, “I know I need to keep on – this was this kind of thrown on me unexpectedly, and I had no clue. You know, I’m still kind of, I’m still kind of shocked and flabbergasted it’s even happening. I’m so my I’m having a hard time wrapping my mind around it.”
The Itasca County Sheriff’s Office said following Hart’s guilty plea, in Itasca County, they notified St. Louis County of his status. Itasca County says St. Louis County subsequently advised that Hart’s warrant had been quashed by a Judge in St. Louis County and Itasca County had no legal authority to continue holding Hart in custody.
Ramsey and Maki disagree. They said, “While the circumstances surrounding Mr. Hart’s custody status were unusual, given his multiple cases in multiple jurisdictions and his prior escape from custody, the St. Louis County Attorney’s Office played no role in his release.” They continued, “The St. Louis County Attorney’s Office did not authorize, request, or facilitate Mr. Hart’s release. Rather, the St. Louis County Attorney’s Office has consistently fought to keep him incarcerated. He was released despite two active cases and substantial, unpaid bail amounts. This was a system failure, not a prosecutorial decision.”
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The Sheriff and County Attorney also released a bullet pointed list of why they believed Hart should have remained in custody:
- Filed a Complaint, issued as a warrant charging Mr. Hart with First-Degree Burglary (Court File No. 69HI-CR-25-433)
- Successfully argued for, and obtained, an increase in bail totaling $300,000 after an earlier, lower bail setting
- Filed a separate Complaint and obtained a warrant charging Mr. Hart with Escape from Custody following his escape from the Northeast Regional Corrections Center (NERCC) (Court File No. 69DU-CR-25-202)
- Sought and secured an additional $40,000 bail after Mr. Hart was apprehended for escape
- Secured an arrest warrant after learning Mr. Hart had been mistakenly released from the Itasca County Jail
The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office and Attorney’s Office say they urge Mr. Hart to work with his legal counsel to turn himself in.
