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Murder Suspect Accidentally Released In Downtown LA Recaptured In Mexico

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Authorities caught up to a murder suspect in Mexico more than a year after he was accidentally released in Downtown Los Angeles.

Johnny Mata was released April 3, 2013, due to a clerical error at the L.A. County Sheriff's Department's Inmate Reception Center.

Officials determined Mata fled to Mexico, likely entering through San Ysidro.

Mata is suspected of being involved in a deadly, gang-related shooting in Baldwin Park in 2010.

American and Mexican authorities conducted a joint effort to track down Mata.

Mata was recaptured Wednesday and escorted to San Ysidro, Deputy Juanita Navarro-Suarez said.

He was placed back into the county jail system and is being held on roughly $2 million bail.

RELATED STORY: Murder Suspect Mistakenly Released From Custody

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