Sheriff's deputies acidentally release Pasadena murder suspect

County supervisors offered a $20,000 reward on Tuesday for information leading to the capture of an inmate who was mistakenly released by the sheriff's department while awaiting trial on charges stemming from a 2011 killing in Pasadena.

Steven Lawrence Wright, 37, was released from the sheriff's Inmate Reception Center at 12:55 p.m. Saturday, according to the sheriff's department. Sheriff's officials didn't detect the error until about 9:30 p.m. Sunday.

It was not immediately clear what led to Wright's erroneous release, which happened the same day the last of three escaped Orange County jail inmates were recaptured after a weeklong manhunt.

Wright, of Altadena, was arrested April 7, 2011, as part of a gang sweep by Pasadena police. He is suspected in the Jan. 19, 2011, killing of Pasadena resident Donnell Taylor.

Wright was one of eight suspected gang members arrested in the sweep, which resulted from an investigation into a series of shootings, including Taylor's killing and an attempted murder in Altadena on March 15, 2011.

Sheriff's officials said they are coordinating with Pasadena police in their search for Wright.

Anyone with information on Wright's whereabouts was urged to contact the sheriff's Major Crimes Bureau at (562) 946-7231. Information can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477, or by texting the letters TIPLA plus the tip to CRIMES (274637) or logging onto the website http://lacrimestoppers.org.