Kidnapping Suspect, 15, Is Mistakenly Freed From Jail

A 15-year-old boy accused of kidnapping a man and firing an AK-47 rifle at police officers during a freeway chase was mistakenly released from custody last week and is now the subject of a manhunt, authorities said.

The teenager, who was being held at the Santa Ana Jail without bail because of the seriousness of the charges, was set free Sept. 25 from Juvenile Hall in Orange after a mix-up in which Santa Ana jailers erroneously thought that all charges had been dropped.

Prosecutors and his defense lawyer didn’t realize the boy was free until three days later, when he didn’t arrive in court for a hearing.

Officials called the mistake highly unusual, and said they are investigating. Meanwhile, officers from the Orange County Probation Department and Santa Ana Police Department are fanning out through the county in an effort to recapture a suspect they describe as a danger to the community.

“We consider this a serious mistake. We are currently following several leads to catch this individual as soon as possible,” said Santa Ana Police Sgt. Baltazar De La Riva.

Another law enforcement official familiar with the case said he can’t believe what happened. “Someone absolutely screwed up,” said the official, who asked not to be identified. “This guy is extremely dangerous.”

Authorities say the teenager and a 27-year-old accomplice snatched a wealthy contractor from a Santa Ana home in April and demanded $100,000 for his release.

The kidnapping ended in a wild car chase. The boy and his accomplice allegedly fired more than 40 bullets through the back window of their car before crashing into a fence. Police said the teenager is a member of a Los Angeles street gang and has an extensive record.

Prosecutors immediately filed attempted murder and kidnapping charges against the boy, and said they would seek to try him as an adult. He was sent to the Santa Ana Jail, where the county’s Probation Department has a contract to house youths being tried as adults.

Months later, prosecutors decided to have the teenager indicted by the Orange County Grand Jury. After an indictment on attempted murder and kidnapping charges was obtained, the original charges were dismissed.

The dismissal should have been a formality, given the new indictments. But somehow, a court order was issued to the Santa Ana jail ordering the boy’s release.

Apparently not aware of the grand jury indictment, city jail officials called the Probation Department Sept. 21 to say they had received the dismissal order and to ask that probation officers come and collect the boy, according to Chief Deputy Probation Officer Tom Wright.

“As best I can tell, we were not informed” about the indictment, Wright said.

Probation officers picked up the boy from Santa Ana Jail and brought him to Juvenile Hall in Orange. From there, he was allowed to go free, Wright said.

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Times staff writer Stuart Pfeifer contributed to this report.