Mistakenly Released Road Slaying Suspect Flees Country

A Pacoima man suspected of killing a woman while driving drunk apparently learned through TV news that he was wanted on felony charges, prompting him to flee the country, authorities said Friday.

The man, Juan Solis, 25, is accused of causing a July 23 accident on the Golden State Freeway that killed Leticia Cabrera, 18, of Los Angeles. Following the accident, Solis used a valid California driver’s license containing fraudulent information to convince California Highway Patrol officers that his name was Angel Moya.

Five days after his arrest, Solis was mistakenly released from County Jail because of a miscommunication between law enforcement agencies.

When authorities discovered their mistake, they were unable to find the man, who they still believed was Angel Moya. They provided the man’s photograph to local news outlets, tipping off Solis that he was being sought for arrest.

He is believed to have fled to his hometown of Guadalajara, Mexico.

“Usually, seeking media help aids us in arresting suspects, but in this case it had absolutely the opposite effect,” said Edward G. Lafond, a CHP assistant chief. “He was not aware of the gravity of charges being filed against him.”

Authorities learned through a fingerprint check completed after the media blitz that Moya was actually Solis, a man with three prior arrests for drunk driving who was driving with a revoked license.

Last week, CHP officials took partial responsibility for Solis’ release, acknowledging that they had been a day late presenting their case to prosecutors. The CHP blamed the delay on an inexperienced officer as well as a time-consuming search for witnesses to bolster their case.

But on Friday, Lafond said the CHP is not to blame.

“We don’t believe this is an issue of training and experience,” Lafond said. “What this is is a breakdown in the system.”

Solis was driving on the Golden State Freeway just south of Colorado Boulevard when he struck a vehicle, crossed three lanes of traffic and sideswiped a van driven by Cabrera, running her off the road. He was arrested on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter and felony drunk driving.

Lafond said CHP officers presented the case to the district attorney’s office on July 26, a day after the 48-hour time limit prescribed by law in which a suspect must either be charged with a crime or released. Lafond said the officers told prosecutors that Solis was still in jail. But Deputy Dist. Atty. Greg Somes disputed the claim.

In any event, Solis was set free on July 28 and has since disappeared.

“What happened to him from [July 26 through 28] we don’t know,” Lafond said.

Authorities did not learn until Aug. 21 that Solis had been mistakenly released, Lafond said. A fingerprint check completed on Aug. 24 revealed Solis’ true identity.

The Sheriff’s Department typically runs fingerprint checks after suspects are booked into custody. But not in the Solis case. Somes said it is not unusual for a fingerprint check to remain uncompleted until charges are filed.

Lafond said Solis had three prior arrests for drunk driving. His license had been suspended four times between January, 1992, and March, 1993, before it was revoked on Jan. 10, 1994.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday ordered the Sheriff’s Department and the district attorney’s office to investigate the Solis case, as well as a similar case involving a murder suspect who was mistakenly released from jail.

Lafond said his department is in contact with Mexican authorities who are searching for Solis.