Buy Photo Brittany Guerriero in Grand Circus Park near her apartment in downtown Detroit in November 2014. (Photo: Jessica J. Trevino, Detroit Free Press)Buy Photo 
 
 While moving into a downtown apartment near Comerica Park, eager to be part of Detroit’s comeback, Brittany Guerriero's life was upended when two carjackers ambushed her in the valet line, jammed a gun into her ribs and threatened to shoot her. 
 
 She testified against the gunman and the getaway driver — and even forgave them in court — because she wanted to make Detroit a safer place to live. 
 
 But two years after the ambush, she was blindsided again, this time by the justice system. 
 
 After months of thinking her assailants were behind bars, Guerriero recently discovered that both men were accidentally released from federal prison when they were supposed to be transferred to state prison to begin their sentences for a string of carjackings: One got 9-20 years; the other 25-50. Instead of being locked up for terrorizing her and others — including a man who was shot in the face and killed — the convicted carjackers roamed free for months. 
 
 ►Related: Carjack victim sets aside anger in favor of forgiveness 
 
 ►Related: Carjackers losing grip on Detroit, but strike daily 
 
 Guerriero, who caught the mistake Nov. 21 while checking the federal prison system's online database, is demanding answers. She wants someone to explain how and why two violent men were released back into society and why nobody but the victim caught this error: not the prosecutors, the state prison system or the federal prison system. 
 
 The U.S. Marshals ultimately captured the men in December, though Guerriero lived for weeks in fear. So far, no one has taken responsibility for the error, though there has been some finger-pointing. The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office says it’s the federal Bureau of Prisons' fault, claiming the bureau is responsible for making sure its inmates have no outstanding charges or warrants before releasing them, and that it failed to do so in this case. But the Michigan Department of Corrections, the U.S. Marshals and the prison bureau said the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office messed up by not filing the necessary paperwork for what's known as a detainer. That alerts prison officials not to let inmates out right away. 
 
 Meanwhile, the 35-year-old Guerriero is reeling. 
 
 "I'm frustrated and disappointed," Guerriero said. "I put my life in danger ... I testified against them and did my duty as a citizen and a victim. I kept telling myself, 'I will be safer and society will be safer if these men are behind bars. ' " 
 
 And then they got away. 
 
 "I just want answers," she said. "I don't trust the system anymore." 
 
 Caught off-guard 
 
 In the fall of 2014, Guerriero was excited about beginning her new life in downtown Detroit. The then 33-year-old business and public relations strategist from Allen Park was passionate about living in the city and longed to be part of its revival. So she moved into Broderick Towers near Comerica Park. 
 
 On Sept. 3, 2014, while moving into her new apartment, two ex-convicts carjacked her in the valet line while she was unloading some housewares from her Ford Fusion. One man boxed her in while a gunman demanded her belongings, threatening to shoot her if she looked at him or tried to get away. 
 
 With the help of surveillance video, Detroit police quickly arrested two suspects: ex-convicts who were out on supervised release after serving federal prison time for armed bank robbery. Guerriero identified the gunman in a lineup and testified against him and the getaway driver. The gunman, Kendall Kelly, 26, of Detroit was sentenced to 25-50 years for fatally shooting a man in the face two days after he stole Guerriero's car and 9-20 years in prison for carjacking Guerriero. The man who boxed her in, DeMarcus Catlin, 26, of Detroit received 9-20 years. 
 
 Kendall Kelly (Photo: MDOC) 
 
 The defendants, however, did not start those sentences right away. Because they committed the carjackings while out on supervised release for a federal crime, the government locked them up for another two years. 
 
 Here's how it was supposed to work. Kelly and Catlin would serve two years in federal prison, and then be transferred to the Michigan Department of Corrections to serve their sentences for the carjackings. 
 
 But that never happened. Catlin was released from federal prison on May 17 and roamed free for almost seven months before getting captured in Detroit. Kelly was released on July 12 and remained free for almost five months until getting arrested in North Carolina. 
 
 Authorities had no idea the men had been released until Guerriero randomly checked the federal prison's inmate-locator system in late November, which she occasionally did to check on her attackers' whereabouts. When she looked up their names on the website, she saw the word, "Released." She then checked Michigan's inmate locator system, known as the Offender Tracking Information System, but couldn't find the men in the system. 
 
 Panicked, she texted the prosecutor who tried her case. 
 
 He texted her back: "The U.S. Marshal's office is checking now. This is causing the 12th floor some concern." 
 
 DeMarcus Catlin (Photo: MDOC) 
 
 The prosecutor sent another text: "The U.S. Marshals are in play now. I will give you a shout once I know." 
 
 On Dec. 9, the day of her birthday, Guerriero got a gift from the prosecutor. He called her and told her that her attackers had been arrested. 
 
 Both men are now serving their sentences in state prison. 
 
 'This was definitely an odd case' 
 
 Maria Miller, spokeswoman for the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, said the federal government is to blame for releasing a convicted killer and carjacker when they should have been transferred to Michigan's prison system. 
 
 It's the prison bureau's responsibility to make sure their inmates don't have any outstanding state convictions before releasing them, she said, noting "they should have looked them up in the (Law Enforcement Information Network) before their release. The convictions were there." 
 
 And when there are outstanding convictions, she said, then the prison bureau must notify state officials in advance so that transfers can be arranged. 
 
 "The federal prison system never should have released these defendants without making the proper notifications since they both had pending sentences to serve in MDOC," Miller said. "This was a horrible position for Ms. Guerriero to be in. We are very disturbed by the fact that the federal system did not notify us. This never should have happened." 
 
 Miller said when a federal inmate is about to be released, but still has an outstanding state conviction, the prison bureau is supposed to notify MDOC and the prosecutor's office 30-90 days prior to a prisoner's release date. 
 
 "The federal authorities with the BOP should have checked to see if the defendants (Catlin and Kelly) had Michigan state convictions. If they had checked and seen valid convictions, they could have confirmed this with us. We do not understand how they would not come back to us and check on the valid convictions on both defendants," Miller said, adding: "We believe that the BOP needs to conduct an investigation to determine exactly how and why this happened." 
 
 Federal authorities and state corrections officials have their own theory: They say the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office erred by not seeking a detainer, which lets prison officials know that an inmate is wanted for another conviction in another jurisdiction and shouldn't be released into society when their sentence ends. Instead, state authorities are notified in advance that a federal inmate is about to be released, and they arrange for their transfer to a state prison. 
 
 For example, MDOC officials noted that if Michigan's so-called White Boy Rick gets paroled, the convicted drug dealer who is serving a life sentence won't automatically be released. Instead, MDOC officials will first notify Florida officials about his parole because they have placed a detainer on him for an outstanding auto theft conviction in Florida. 
 
 Federal prison officials have denied any wrongdoing, noting no detainer was filed in this case. Here is their explanation of what happened: 
 
 According to the BOP, the prison bureau did reach out to Michigan authorities before releasing Kelly — the gunman — because "his file contained a report indicting that he violated the condition of his federal probation with new criminal conduct (i.e., Michigan state charges)." But nobody responded, officials said, noting it was the Detroit Police Department and 36th District Court to which the prison bureau had reached out. 
 
 "Bureau staff sent multiple written requests to Michigan authorities, requesting information about the disposition of Kelly's state case, any outstanding warrants, and whether Michigan wished to lodge a detainer. Michigan never responded to the bureau's requests," Jill Tyson, chief public information officer for the BOP, said in an e-mail to the Free Press. 
 
 Tyson noted that no detainer was filed in the case. 
 
 "Without a detainer being filed, the bureau does not have legal authority to hold an inmate beyond the conclusion of his federal sentence," Tyson said. "Therefore, upon completion of his federal sentence, Kelly was released from the United States Penitentiary (USP) Hazelton in West Virginia on July 12, 2016." 
 
 DPD said it has no oversight of a suspect once they've been convicted, and is unclear why the federal prison bureau reached out to them in this case. 
 
 "Once an individual is convicted of a crime, the Detroit Police Department no longer holds responsibility over them. It is unclear who they contacted or why they contacted us if the individual had already been convicted," said Sgt. Adam Madera, a spokesman for DPD. 
 
 Kelli Owen, administrator for 36th District Court, said the case was not tried in 36th District Court and officials there don’t know why BOP would have reached out to them. 
 
 In the case involving Catlin, who was released two months before Kelly, Tyson said: "The bureau was not aware of any pending state charges." 
 
 According to Tyson, the BOP conducted a national criminal background check on Catlin before transferring him to a residential center, but that nothing turned up. 
 
 "This criminal history check did not yield any outstanding warrants or pending charges," Tyson said. "Therefore, upon completion of his federal sentence, DeMarcus Catlin was released from a (residential re-entry center) on May 17, 2016." 
 
 Tyson said criminal background checks are run on all inmates before releasing them. She did not say whether a criminal background check revealed anything on Kelly. 
 
 For MDOC officials and the U.S. Marshals, who are involved in the transfer of prisoners, the detainer — or lack of one — was key. 
 
 "There should have been a detainer filed from Wayne County. If there's no detainer on file, then there's nothing to warn anyone to hold them," said Deputy U.S. Marshal Rob Watson, who noted that accidents like this can occur, especially when multiple agencies are involved in moving inmates place to place. 
 
 "It happens. People are human," said Watson, not blaming anyone in particular at the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office. "They reached out to us. We grabbed em up and put em back in jail." 
 
 MDOC spokesman Chris Gautz also stressed the importance of having a detainer. 
 
 "It's the responsibility of the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office to seek a detainer," said Gautz, adding that the MDOC had no such authority to seek detainers in this case because the defendants were never in the state prison system. 
 
 "We work with Wayne County on issues like this. We're both happy that we were able to find a way to eventually get them back in here. This was definitely an odd case," said Gautz, noting MDOC runs numerous checks on inmates before releasing them. 
 
 "When we release someone from our custody, we check to make sure that there is no detainer, no warrants. And we check their criminal history record to make sure that there's nothing like this is going on," Gautz said. "We want to make sure that they are supposed to be let go." 
 
 Gautz added: "I'm not sure where the breakdown was." 
 
 Miller maintains it was within the federal prison system. She said that while the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office did not place a detainer on the individuals, it's "unaware of any statute that requires us to place a hold on a prisoner." 
 
 "We are currently looking into this matter so that it never happens again," Miller said. "The feds should have checked before releasing the defendants." 
 
 Guerriero, meanwhile, has moved out of the city and back to the suburbs. She said the stress from the carjacking and rising rents influenced her decision to leave Detroit. For now, she's relieved that her assailants are locked up and says that she's not looking to "poke blame." But the system let her down, she said, and someone needs to answer so it doesn't happen again. 
 
 "I just want to know where the breakdown in the system was," said Guerriero, stressing "it shouldn't take some random victim looking through the system" to catch a mistake. 
 
 "There should be checks and balances in place. I want it fixed," said Guerriero, who agonizes over this question: "Who else have they accidentally released? That's what keeps going through my head, over and over and over again." 
 
 Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @tbaldas. 
 
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– Two Detroit carjackers are back in prison after their victim went online and found they'd been mistakenly released, the AP reports. Local and federal authorities are pointing fingers at each other—but there's no dispute that Brittany Guerriero is the person who had to get her own justice. The men were free for months until December. Per the Detroit Free Press, Guerriero was moving into a new apartment in September 2014 when she was carjacked while waiting in the valet line. Thanks to surveillance camera tapes and Guerriero's testimony, Kendall Kelly and DeMarcus Catlin were captured, and each received sentences of nine to 20 years in prison on the carjacking charge (Kelly had other time added on for a fatal shooting). But Guerriero tells the Detroit Free Press that she went online in November and found Kelly and Catlin had been released from federal prison. They were sent there first because their carjacking convictions in state court violated their probation. Kelly and Catlin were supposed to go to a Michigan prison last year to serve their carjacking sentences, but the US Bureau of Prisons says it wasn't told that the men were supposed to be transferred. A rep for the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office says the snafu was the federal prison bureau's fault, but the feds deny any wrongdoing and say the proper detainer paperwork wasn't filed to alert them that the convicts shouldn't have been released. "It shouldn't take some random victim looking through the system," Guerriero says. "Who else have they accidentally released?"