Less than 24 hours after the last two of three escapees were returned to their Orange County jail cells in southern California, Los Angeles County authorities say they’ve lost another inmate.
On Monday, the Los Angeles County sheriff’s office said it had accidentally released an inmate awaiting trial for a gang-related murder.
Steven Lawrence Wright, 37, was mistakenly released from the Inmate Reception Center on Saturday, authorities said. The sheriff’s department says it became aware of Wright’s release more than 24 hours later on Sunday night.
The department said it immediately began coordinating resources with Pasadena police and formed a taskforce dedicated to tracking down Wright. The department says it also will conduct a review to prevent future accidental inmate releases.
Wright had been behind bars since April 2011 following his arrest for the gang-related shooting death of a 47-year-old man that same year in Pasadena. At the time, police said, Wright belonged to the Altadena Block Crips.
The incident was reminiscent of an episode of the hit Netflix show Orange Is the New Black, in which an inmate is accidentally released from prison in a case of mistaken identity.
The three captured inmates had escaped on 22 January from the Orange County Central Men’s Jail in Santa Ana, about 64km (40 miles) southeast of Los Angeles. They had been charged with violent crimes including torture and murder. The authorities have said they believe the men had planned their elaborate escape for months and had accomplices.
