Convicted murderer mistakenly released from Clayton jail caught in Florida

Law enforcement agencies had been searching for Guzman, who was sentenced to life in prison for choking Delila Grayson, 19, to death at the Sutter Lake apartments in Clayton in August 2022.

Five months after his conviction but before he was transferred to prison, Guzman walked free from the Clayton jail, released by deputies by mistake. Although he had been on the run since late March, news of his release did not become public until this week when the family of the woman he killed found out from the Clayton District Attorney’s Office.

The sheriff’s office also discovered the mistake Tuesday, 12 days after Guzman was let out of jail, Allen said in a news release. The sheriff said the DA alerted him.

U.S. marshals said they were brought in by the Clayton sheriff’s office within the past week to help with the search.

“I immediately activated my Fugitive Squad and through the relationships and partnerships I’ve built over the last two years with other law enforcement agencies, I personally contacted every metro Atlanta sheriff,” Allen said in the statement.

The cause of the mistaken release is still under investigation, which could result in termination, Allen said. Disciplinary actions are pending.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has repeatedly attempted to reach Allen via phone, email and in person this week. A spokesman for the sheriff declined to make him available for an interview Friday and said officials are still “trying to figure out what went wrong and what happened.”

Clayton DA Tasha Mosley told the AJC on Thursday that her office, which prosecuted Guzman’s case, was “as disappointed and pissed off as everybody else” at his release.

“All appropriate paperwork was sent to the appropriate people. I have no idea why they released this man,” Mosley said.

Allen earlier told Channel 2 Action News the mistake was the result of a training failure and that his workers were not paying attention.

Staff had looked at a court document showing prosecutors were dismissing a charge. But it was only a necrophilia charge that had been dropped, not the felony murder and aggravated assault charges on which Guzman was convicted, Allen told the news station.

The public was not made aware of the convicted murderer’s release until nearly two weeks had passed. The victim’s family was only notified Tuesday.

U.S. marshals said they arrested him in Ocoee, Florida — roughly 40 minutes to an hour from where the victim’s family lives in Kissimmee.

Christina Grayson, the victim’s mother, told the AJC she felt “sick to my stomach” when she found out how close Guzman had been to her home and her children — the same home from Guzman’s high school days when he first met her daughter.

Credit: Christina Grayson

Credit: Christina Grayson

“I don’t know what to feel,” Grayson said. “I just thank God that he didn’t come to my house.”

At least two other inmates were mistakenly released from the Clayton jail in the past three years.

Former U.S. marshal Anthony Cangelosi, who has experience tracking down fugitives, said he wasn’t surprised when he heard Guzman was found at a relative’s house.

“He probably didn’t have extensive planning since he didn’t expect to be let go, so where is he going to go?” said Cangelosi, who is a lecturer at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. “He’s going to go to what’s familiar.”

He said the family member could face charges for harboring a fugitive, but that depends on how aggressive prosecutors want to be considering Guzman was mistakenly released and didn’t escape.

Cangelosi also questioned why the sheriff didn’t notify the U.S. marshals sooner. It’s not clear at what point the sheriff realized the mistake.

“(Marshals) are probably the best at hunting fugitives,” he said. “Not only nationally, but internationally as well.”

— Staff writer Shaddi Abusaid contributed to this article.