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ST. LOUIS — Four ºüÀêÊÓƵ men sued city officials in federal court this week saying they were mistakenly held in jail for anywhere from six days to eight months.

The lawsuits say officials were notified by the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Public Defender’s Office that inmates were being held by mistake, and that officials failed to establish effective procedures for releasing the inmates.

Michael Jones’ suit says that he was charged with one felony and one misdemeanor in 2013 and held in the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Medium Security Institution, also known as the workhouse, because he could not afford to pay his bond. His case was dismissed on Nov. 26, 2013, but he was not released until the following July, the suit says.

Ricardo Williams was arrested in 2018 and charged with a misdemeanor. His case was dismissed on Aug. 27, 2018, but he was held at the workhouse and also the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Justice Center until the following October, the suit says.

Jarrid Berry’s suit says he was arrested in 2018 and charged with three felonies. He was held in the Justice Center. The case was dismissed on April 18, 2019, but Berry was not released until about two weeks later, on May 2, his suit contends.

Akeem McKinney’s suit, meanwhile, says he was arrested in 2019 and charged with five felonies before his case was dismissed on May 22, 2019. He was held in the Justice Center for an additional six days, until May 28.

None of the men were told that they were held by mistake. Jones and Williams learned in 2019 and the others learned in April 2020 of the error, the suits allege.

Patrick Hamacher, one of the lawyers for the men, said, “As you can imagine they were pretty shocked and fairly angry.�

Hamacher said he and lawyer Elad Gross learned of the mistakes during an investigation of the Justice Center and the workhouse.

The suits seek unspecified damages and names the city; Sheriff Vernon Betts; Jimmie Edwards, director of the Department of Public Safety; Dale Glass, commissioner of the Division of Corrections; and Jeff Carson, superintendent of the workhouse.

Mayoral spokesman Jacob Long said Wednesday that officials would likely decline to comment on pending lawsuits, per policy. Betts declined to comment for the same reason.

City officials since 2018 have settled three cases with similar allegations for a total of $104,612, according to copies of the settlement agreements obtained by the Post-Dispatch.