2nd Suspected Killer Mistakenly Freed : Justice: Miscommunication among law enforcement agencies is blamed for July 26 release of Pacoima man held in death of woman, 18.

For the second time in less than a month, a suspected killer has slipped through the cracks of Los Angeles County’s overburdened criminal justice system.

In the most recent case, a miscommunication among law enforcement agencies led to the July 26 release from County Jail of a Pacoima man suspected of killing a woman in a drunk-driving accident, a California Highway Patrol official said Tuesday.

“We look at ourselves and we say we should have done a better job,” said Sgt. Jill Angel, a CHP spokeswoman. “But this is also about the legal system and the jail system, which are being overburdened by too many bodies.”

Days earlier, a woman awaiting trial on charges of killing a Glendale travel agent was released from a county jail after her name was accidentally placed on a computerized list of prisoners to be freed. The woman, Anait Zakarian, remains at large and is believed to have fled the country.

In the drunk-driving case, CHP officers were late asking prosecutors to file manslaughter charges against Angel Moya, 26, prompting his release from Men’s Central Jail. Moya, who has since disappeared, is believed to have caused a July 23 car accident that killed 18-year-old Leticia Cabrera of Los Angeles, authorities said.

Authorities said Moya was speeding north on the Golden State Freeway, just south of Colorado Boulevard, where he rear-ended one vehicle, losing control of his car. He crossed three lanes of traffic, sideswiping a van driven by Cabrera and running her off the road. Cabrera’s van smashed into a fence, and she was ejected through the windshield.

At the time of his arrest, a preliminary test showed Moya’s blood alcohol level at more than twice the legal limit.

Howard Lontoc, Cabrera’s stepfather, said the past several weeks have been like a nightmare for him and other family members, knowing that authorities released the man believed responsible for the young woman’s death.

“We were assuming that everything was being done within the system to prosecute this guy and then we discover that, in fact, nothing’s happened, and the case just slipped through the cracks; he’s released and now can’t be found,” Lontoc said.

“How does somebody slip through the cracks for drunk driving?” Lontoc asked in a telephone interview. “How in the world does that happen?”

Jail officials say they released Moya because authorities failed to file charges against him within the 48-hour time limit prescribed by law.

Angel said her department was late in presenting the case to the district attorney’s office, which is responsible for bringing criminal charges. One reason, Angel said, was that an officer with only six months experience was assigned the case. CHP officers were also seeking additional witnesses to bolster their case.

Because of the delay, authorities thought that Moya had been released by the time charges were prepared, and so an arrest warrant was issued. But unknown to the authorities, Moya was still in custody at the time, Angel said.

Jail authorities say they received no word from prosecutors so they released Moya.

“What happened here is extremely rare,” Angel said. “Our question is, ‘How did he get released?’ but it was possibly a communication problem within the system.”

Bill Ryder, acting head deputy district attorney of the complaints division, said workers in the filing office may not have known that Moya was still in custody when the case was filed.

“We aren’t in communication with County Jail,” Ryder said. “We’re real busy processing police reports.”

A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s spokesman said his department--which runs the jails--was never told of the warrant.

“If we had received a Teletype of the warrant we would not have released him, but our records show we never received any information,” Sheriff’s Sgt. Roy Pugh said. “The only thing we looked at is that he was arrested by the CHP, he was brought to us and because no case was filed we had to release him.”

Angel said her department has already taken steps to prevent another inadvertent release, such as making sure officers have enough help to complete their preliminary investigations within the legal time limit.

Ron Grzywinski, an attorney representing Cabrera’s family, said Moya’s accidental release illustrates problems in the county’s criminal justice system.

“Here we are in the world of computers and space-age technology and they can’t keep track of an arrestee,” Grzywinski said.

Grzywinski said authorities should have learned from the accidental release of Zakarian.

“How many times does this have to happen before the system is updated?” he asked.

Zakarian was released from Sybil Brand Institute for Women on July 21, and her absence went unnoticed for three days. She apparently took a brief vacation in Las Vegas before vanishing. Zakarian, 22, and her older brother, Garen, 31, were being held without bail for the shooting death in October of Benita Mikailian over a business dispute.

Grzywinski said Moya’s release “has just exacerbated an already difficult experience for the family because they trusted the system.” He said family members hope that authorities capture Moya with the help of media attention.

“I’m afraid that unless this guy is pulled over on a traffic violation they may never catch him,” Grzywinski said. “But I hope that’s not the case.”