LA Sheriff: Court Ordered Murder Suspect Steven Manzo To Be Released

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) - Sheriff's officials Wednesday clarified the reported release of a murder suspect from Los Angeles County custody was in response to a court order and was thus not "erroneous".

Steven Manzo, 24, was released Tuesday from Century Regional Detention Center in Lynwood and later prompted a manhunt in the downtown Los Angeles area.

At one point, the southbound 101 Freeway was temporarily closed in the search.

Manzo is charged with murder in the July 2018 shooting death of 24-year-old Salvador Corrales in Long Beach.

The L.A. County District Attorney's office says there was a court hearing Tuesday morning where charges were dismissed and immediately refiled.

A judge remanded Manzo into custody, but at some point and for an as-yet undetermined reason, Manzo was released at 2:12 p.m. Tuesday, and the sheriff's inmate locator indicates the reason was that the case was dismissed.

"Upon further review, it was determined he should not have been
released," said Long Beach police spokeswoman Arantxa Chavarria.

Prior to his release, Manzo was being held on a $2 million bail.

In a statement Wednesday, the sheriff's department said:

"The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department did NOT erroneously release a murder suspect yesterday from our custody. LASD received an "Order For Release" from the court, indicating the case was dismissed. As such the Department complied with the court order and processed the individual for release."

It's unclear whether Manzo is still in the Los Angeles area.