US Route 101 was shut down for an hour Tuesday near Hollywood, but LA sheriff's deputies still couldn’t find the mistakenly released suspect, and he could be anywhere at this point.
We don’t normally cover a lot of Long Beach, California crime on this site. But in this case, we’re inclined to make an exception, because a murder suspect has now been on the loose for 24 hours after police just let him go by accident there, according to KRON4. And at this point, the 24-year-old suspect Steven Manzo, seen above, could conceivably be in the Bay Area, so this strange story seems worth acknowledging locally.
The miscues started at 2:12 p.m. Tuesday, when the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department (LASD) accidentally released Manzo according to a timeline provided by the Long Beach Press-Telegram. At a Tuesday hearing shortly before the snafu, Manzo was charged with murder by the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office (which just happens to be run by our old friend George Gascón). Manzo had been in custody fo over his alleged role in the July 26, 2018 killing of someone named Salvador Corrales.
Despite the fact that Manzo was charged with murder Tuesday, some manner of mix-up led to Manzo’s court and jail records indicating that his case was dismissed. This was some weird clerical error, I guess? The LA Sheriff’s Department received an “order for release” for Manzo on Tuesday afternoon, and promptly let him go.
Upon realizing what had happened, Long Beach police reached out to the LA Sheriff's Department.
"We contacted LASD to assist with his apprehension. LASD set up a containment perimeter, but they were not able to take him into custody," Long Beach police spokesperson Arantxa Chavarria told the Press-Telegram. They shut down the Hollywood Freeway (US 101) from 3:44 p.m. until 4:55 p.m. Tuesday, but that action did not result in finding the suspect.
“Our department will work with local agencies to make every effort to locate suspect Manzo to take him safely into custody,” Chavarria said.
If you have any information on, or have seen this astonishingly lucky murder suspect, you’re encouraged to call the Long Beach Police Dispatch at (562) 435-6711.
Image: Long Beach Police Department
