Memory Lapse Throws Wrench in Wheels of Justice : Crime: A transient wanted for attempted murder and armed robbery is set free after deputy district attorney forgets to charge him.

A man suspected of ransacking a Spring Valley pharmacy, tying up the owner and trying to set fire to it was released from jail because a prosecutor forgot to charge him with the crime.

“It was a mistake,” said Joseph L. Van Orshoven, the deputy district attorney who was supposed to file charges against Gregory Edward Gartiser. “It was my intention to (do it) on Monday, and the damn thing slipped my mind.”

Gartiser, a 31-year-old transient suspected of attempted murder, armed robbery, burglary and attempted arson, was set free Monday night because he had not been arraigned within two working days of his arrest.

A warrant for his arrest was issued Tuesday when the detective who arrested Gartiser last week discovered he had been set free. The fugitive is described as white, 6 feet tall, about 155 pounds, with long, straight brown hair and a Fu Manchu mustache.

Van Orshoven, who works in the El Cajon branch of the district attorney’s office, said he received the case from sheriff’s detectives Friday morning and reviewed it that afternoon. His wife was sick Monday, and he stayed home to take care of her, he said.

Another lawyer handled Van Orshoven’s cases Monday, but it is possible that the charges were not filed that day because the cover of the Gartiser report did not indicate that the suspect was in jail, which would have alerted the substitute attorney about the Monday deadline, said Michael Running, who heads the El Cajon office.

“There was no indication that he was in custody,” Van Orshoven said. “It was just my good luck that I happened to review that case Friday.”

Running and Van Orshoven said they did not know why the report was not stamped correctly by the clerks.

A person who has been arrested on suspicion of a crime must be arraigned within two working days of arrest or be set free.

A $250,000 warrant for Gartiser’s arrest has been issued, and sheriff’s deputies are now following leads about where he might be. Detectives refused to be more specific, saying it could hurt their investigation.

Gartiser has a record of arrests, although never for crimes as serious as the charges he faces.

He was arrested by deputies last Thursday morning, shortly after he was spotted by several witnesses running from the direction of a Spring Valley pharmacy that had just been robbed of more than $2,000 worth of drugs, Detective Jerry Moreno said.

The owner of Casa Drugs, in the 9900 block of Campo Road, had surprised a burglar when he opened the pharmacy, Moreno said.

The burglar told the owner, Mark Lehew, that he had a knife and would attack him if he did not cooperate, Moreno said.

Lehew was taken to the back office, and his wrists and ankles were bound with tape. The burglar demanded drugs, and Lehew told him they were in the store’s safe. The thief was fumbling to open it when Lehew broke free and quietly slipped out the back door.

According to witnesses, Gartiser followed Lehew out shortly after. He reportedly was spotted getting into a car and later switching cars. Deputies apprehended him about 10 minutes after they received the call from Lehew. A television crew also filmed his arrest. The stolen drugs were found in one of the cars, authorities said.

When Lehew returned to the pharmacy, he discovered that someone had spread alcohol throughout the store and had tried to light it.

Moreno said Gartiser later admitted breaking into the pharmacy, but said he had to stop questioning Gartiser when the suspect began asking for legal advice.

When Lehew was told Tuesday that his alleged attacker was free, he said, “I was shocked and disillusioned.”

“I was a little anxious, but I don’t really consider myself a target for this fellow,” Lehew said Wednesday. “I didn’t do anything to him. I’m just disillusioned at the system that can allow it to occur. The sheriff’s detectives were very apologetic.”

The goof was not detected until Tuesday morning, when Moreno was doing a computer check.

“I do it once I know that a person is supposed to go to court on a certain day. I check upcoming court dates on them to make sure it (testifying) doesn’t conflict with my schedule,” he said. “At first, I didn’t believe it, I thought it was an error.”

Moreno then called the El Cajon office and discovered that no charges had been filed against Gartiser, he said.

The case against Gartiser was “very strong,” Moreno said, and, although he has heard of similar mistakes happening in other cases, it is very unusual for one to occur in such a high-profile case, he said.

The El Cajon district attorney’s office reviews about 30,000 cases annually, according to officials. “There’s nothing that’s perfect,” Moreno said. “It’s just something that I hope never happens again.”