A man was mistakenly released from jail — but his wife brought him back just two hours later

38-year-old James Rynerson was mistakenly released from jail after guards mixed him up with another inmate.

By Mariam Sharia, INSIDER

• 38-year-old James Rynerson was mistakenly released from jail after guards mixed him up with another inmate.

• Rynerson forged the signature of Marvin March, who was due for release, and walked out of jail with the man’s leather jacket and debit card.

• The inmate’s wife was surprised to find him in the garage of their apartment complex and immediately drove him back to prison.

• He now faces additional charges, including escape, forgery, criminal impersonation, and theft.

An inmate mistakenly released from jail enjoyed a full two hours of freedom before his wife drove him back and made him turn himself in.

Thirty-eight-year-old James Rynerson of Grand Junction, Colorado, was blessed with what he believed to be a stroke of good fortune late last month when an identity mix-up resulted in his being accidentally freed from Colorado’s Mesa County Jail. According to The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, Rynerson was being held on a $2,000 cash bond while awaiting prosecution on menacing, disorderly conduct and trespass charges.

Rynerson had at one point briefly shared a cell with inmate Marvin March, who eventually moved back into his own cell. However jail records neglected to note this change, so when March was called for release, guards went into Rynerson’s cell to retrieve the only man within: James Rynerson.

The guards only realized their mistake when March approached them later that day to ask what time they planned on releasing him...not that it mattered much. By that point, Rynerson’s wife had found him hiding in their apartment complex’s garage and was already marching him back to jail.

According to Mesa County Sheriff’s Sergeant Henry Stoffel, prison staff had failed to check Rynerson’s wristband and picture when they let him go with March’s paperwork, debit card, and leather jacket.  Rynerson now faces a number of new charges, including escape, forgery, criminal impersonation and theft — all in exchange for a couple of lousy hours in a garage. Talk about a raw deal!