A Seattle homicide suspect who authorities say was mistakenly released from a Bay Area jail last fall is back in custody. U.S. Marshals arrested 20-year-old Isaiah Jamon Andrews in St. Louis on April 1, 2026, ending a months-long search that began after his October release from the Martinez Detention Facility in Contra Costa County. Officials said he was taken into custody without incident.
The U.S. Marshals Service arrested Andrews in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 1, according to KOMO News. Seattle police told KOMO they plan to seek extradition so Andrews can face a first-degree murder warrant in King County.
Andrews was first arrested in California on Oct. 18, 2025, after a vehicle pursuit involving Antioch and Pittsburg police and Contra Costa County deputies, then booked into the Martinez Detention Facility on a temporary homicide warrant, KTVU reported. Three days later, on Oct. 22, 2025, jail staff mistakenly released him, according to the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office. The error prompted a multistate search led by federal marshals and local partners.
The shooting behind the warrant left 20-year-old Theodore Wheeler dead after he was found shot in the chest in a North Seattle hotel parking lot on Oct. 15, 2025, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Seattle police traced the suspect to California before his October arrest, the Chronicle added.
Procedures under review
The Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office has said it is investigating how the mistaken release occurred and has opened an internal review. The error also triggered a federal tasking and a U.S. Marshals-led search that crossed state lines, as KTVU described.
The arrest brings a close to a manhunt that first drew wider notice in October, when the initial search was reported. Authorities are still urging anyone with information related to the case to contact law enforcement as extradition proceedings and charging decisions move forward in King County.
