Murder suspect still on the loose
Authorities say a clerical mixup led to his release from jail
Authorities on Wednesday continued to search for a Long Beach murder suspect who mistakenly was released from jail Tuesday, prompting the closure of the 101 Freeway for more than an hour Tuesday afternoon while sheriff’s dep- uties searched for him, authorities said.
Steven Manzo, 24, of Hawaiian Gardens has not been found after his release from jail. Prosecutors had sought to refile a case against him and two other defendants in order to “allow for the postponement of the preliminary hear
ing,” said Ricardo Santiago, spokesman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
The hearing, where a judge determines whether there’s enough evidence for a trial, was scheduled Monday, according to court records.
But Manzo was not taken from the jail to the court that day, Santiago said. His two co-defendants refused to waive time so the preliminary hearing could be postponed, so the prosecutor asked for the case to be dismissed and immediately refiled it, he said.
But jail records show Manzo was released about 2:12 p.m. Tuesday with the indication his case had been dismissed. The prosecutor found out about the release the same day, Santiago said.
Long Beach police became aware of Manzo’s release and reached out to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to assist in getting him back into custody, they said.
“Upon further review, it was determined he should not have been released,” police said in a statement. “Our Department will work with local agencies to make every effort to locate suspect Manzo to take him safely into custody.”
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in a Wednesday statement disputed earlier reports that Manzo’s release was “erroneous.”
“LASD received an ‘Order For Release’ from the court, indicating the case was dismissed,” the statement said. “As such the Department complied with the court order and processed the individual for release.”
Manzo was arrested in March 2020 on suspicion of shooting to death 24-yearold Salvador Corrales after a dispute in a parking lot in North Long Beach on July 26, 2018, police have said.
Corrales was later found in a car with gunshot wounds in Bell Gardens, police said. He was shot in the head, coroner’s records show.
The two men knew each other and agreed to meet in the parking lot, police said.
Days later, the District Attorney’s office filed charges of murder, attempted murder, shooting at an occupied vehicle, possession for sale of methamphetamine and sale or transportation of methamphetamine, Santiago said.
The other two men, 24-year-old Gabriel Ivan Martinez and 22-year-old Daniel Alberto Cardona, were included in the refiling and face drug charges and a second-degree robbery charge each, Santiago said. Jail records show both men had been released on bond.
Edith Gonzalez, 34, who police said was with Manzo when he allegedly shot Corrales, pleaded no contest to possession of methamphetamine for sale and was sentenced to two years in county jail and three years of probation, court records show.