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Cops are on the search for an "armed and dangerous" murder suspect they say was accidentally released from jail on Saturday.Steven Lawrence Wright, 37, was released from the Inmate Reception Center at the Twin Towers jail on Saturday, just before 1 p.m. His absence was not noticed by sheriff's officials until over a day later on Sunday night, around 9:30 p.m., when they realized that Wright was released by mistake. Although he was in custody for a murder charge, he was also sentenced to five days in jail for contempt of court on January 26, for which he was erroneously released on Saturday, according to a press release.
"Any time we make a mistake, that hurts morale, but at the same time we consider this to be an opportunity to learn from our mistakes, and make sure something like this doesn’t happen again," Sheriff's Department Commander Keith Swensson told KPCC.
Swensson explained to the L.A. Times that the mix-up was the result of a clerical error on paperwork. "This is just one of those things," he told the Times.
According to the Pasadena Star-News, Wright and another man were arrested in April of 2011 for the gang-related murder of Donnell Taylor. Taylor was shot in January of 2011 in Pasadena.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is asking for the public's help in locating Wright. He is described as a 32-year-old black male, 5'8", 180 pounds, with tattoos on his neck and back. He should be considered armed and dangerous. Anyone with information is being asked to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Major Crimes Bureau at (562) 946-7231. Swensson told KPCC that Wright is considered armed and dangerous and added, "We are going to be relentless in our pursuit of recapturing him."
