A search continued Thursday for an inmate mistakenly released by the sheriff’s department while awaiting trial on charges stemming from a 2011 killing in Pasadena.
Steven Lawrence Wright, 37, of Pasadena was released from the sheriff’s Inmate Reception Center at 12:55 p.m. Saturday, according to the sheriff’s department. Sheriff’s officials didn’t detect the error until about 9:30 p.m. Sunday.
Sheriff’s official said Wright, who had been in custody facing a murder charge, was sentenced to five days in jail last week after a contempt of court conviction. When he was transferred to the Inmate Reception Center from court, the paperwork sent with him contained an error, sheriff’s Cmdr. Keith Swensson said in comments reported by the Los Angeles Times.
The docket number for his contempt of court case was put in the box where his murder case should have gone, making it appear he was due to be released Saturday instead of being held without bail pending a trial, Swensson said. A clerk made a handwritten note with the correct information at the bottom of the form, but three Sheriff’s Department employees overlooked it and Wright was released, he said.
Wright was arrested April 7, 2011, as part of a gang sweep by Pasadena police. He is suspected in the Jan. 19, 2011, killing of Pasadena resident Donnell Taylor.
Wright was one of eight suspected gang members arrested in the sweep, which resulted from an investigation into a series of shootings, including Taylor’s killing and an attempted murder in Altadena on March 15, 2011.
Wright is black, 5 feet 8, about 180 pounds, with short black hair and brown eyes. Sheriff’s officials said they are coordinating with Pasadena police in their search for Wright. The county has offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to his capture,
Anyone with information on Wright’s whereabouts was urged to contact the sheriff’s Major Crimes Bureau at (562) 946-7231. Information can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477, or by texting the letters TIPLA plus the tip to CRIMES (274637) or logging onto the website http://lacrimestoppers.org.
—Staff and wire reports