PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — A man accused of shooting at a car with two children inside was accidentally released from the Palm Beach County Jail in February, according to records obtained by Contact 5 Investigators.
Internal affair records from the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office show jail staffer Michael Gaeudreau failed to check for outstanding cases against 28-year-old Jeffrey Pugh, who was booked into jail on Feb. 23 for driving with a suspended license.
Pugh was mistakenly released three hours later "instead of being held with no bond," the records show.
He was scheduled to appear before a judge on Feb. 25 in connection with a previous case, in which deputies said he fired three to four rounds at an occupied vehicle on July 4, 2018.
Pugh's arrest report states three people were inside the car at the time of the shooting, including two children, one of whom was Pugh's son.
"[Pugh] not only showed complete disregard for human life, but disregard for his own son's life," the arrest report states.
As a result of that arrest, Pugh faced charges of felony shooting into an occupied vehicle, felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, discharging a firearm in a residential area, and carrying a concealed firearm.
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Despite being mistakenly released from jail, court records show Pugh was present for the Feb. 25 hearing.
Records show Gaeudreau said he was aware that protocol required him to check for open cases as part of booking procedure, but he "must have forgotten," the internal affairs report says.
Jail records indicate Pugh has been arrested several times since 2008. He pleaded guilty in April to one count of shooting into an occupied vehicle, a felony, and one count of carrying a concealed firearm. A judge sentenced him to 364 days in jail and two years probation.
Disciplinary records show Gaeudreau was suspended for eight hours as a result of the incident.
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