Convicted Murderer Mistakenly Released in Chicago

Steven L. Robbins, a man serving a 60-year prison sentence in Indiana, was mistakenly released Wednesday evening from Cook County Jail. According to the Cook County Sheriff’s office and the Indiana Department of Correction, Robbins [44] was sent to Cook County Circuit Court on Tuesday to face charges on a case unrelated to his murder conviction. 

Robbins had been serving his time in Indiana State Prison and was brought to Illinois to appear in Cook County Court for a warrant in connection with a 1992 armed violence and narcotics case. The charges were dropped, “but for reasons unknown, Robbins was released by Illinois authorities without being held for return,” the department said in a news release.

He was arrested in June 2002 in a Merrillville, Indiana motel in connection with the 12 May 2002, slaying of Richard Melton (of Kentucky) in Indianapolis. Melton was visiting Indianapolis with his mother for a relative’s funeral and got into a fight with Robbins, who then shot him on the street. He began his sentence in October 2004 and his earliest projected release date was 29 June 2029.

Both Illinois and Indiana have issued arrest warrants for Robbins. Officials in both states are asking for the public's help to apprehend him. He is described as a black man, 5 feet 5 inches tall and 190 pounds, and he has a tattoo on the right side of his neck that reads “Nicole.”