In the Pasadena Courthouse This Week

This week, five high-profile Pasadena criminal cases will move forward in Pasadena Courthouse of the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Here’s an update and profile of each of these cases.

Preliminary Hearing Setting for Valentino Gutierrez, June 25

Valentino Gutierrez, 57, a homeless man, is charged with one count each of murder and arson of property. He also is accused of using an accelerant.

He was arrested on February 2 outside Union Station Homeless Services in the 400 block of South Raymond Avenue by a large contingent Los Angeles Police, after firefighters and police discovered the remains of his wife burning in a Los Angeles Home Depot parking lot. Detectives traced him to Pasadena.

Gutierrez pleaded not guilty during his arraignment February 15. He is currently being held at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles, with bail set at $2.17 million.

If convicted as charged, Gutierrez faces a possible maximum sentence of life in prison.

Deputy District Attorney Rachel Bowers of the Arson and Explosives Section is prosecuting.

Preliminary Hearing Setting for Johnny Paul Siganoff, aka John Siganoff, John Szabo, and Frank Siganoff, June 25

Johnny Paul Siganoff, aka John Siganoff, John Szabo and Frank Siganoff, 32, of Phoenix, Arizona, is charged with one felony count each driving or taking a vehicle without consent, carjacking, assault upon a peace officer, two felony counts of attempted carjacking and three felony counts of resisting an executive officer.

The District Attorney’s Office said he stole a car from a gas station clerk in Mission Viejo on May 30. The defendant later crashed into two vehicles on the 134 Freeway at Harvey Drive in Glendale and reportedly tried to carjack those two vehicles before returning to the car he had previously carjacked and fleeing. He was pursued and was arrested after a struggle near Riverside Drive and the 134 in Burbank.

The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charges during his arraignment on June 4.

Siganoff faces a possible maximum sentence of more than nine years in state prison if convicted as charged. Bail was set at $300,000.

Deputy District Attorney Marlene Sanchez is prosecuting.

Sentencing for Albert Ahmad Clark, June 27

Albert Ahmad Clark, 56, is charged with murder for the alleged shooting death of Leroy Galloway on February 27, 1988. Clark was arrested that year but was released due to the limitations of forensic science at that time; there was insufficient evidence to charge him with homicide.

In 2013, family members of the victim contacted the Pasadena Police Department and requested a review of the case. An extensive examination of the case files identified items of evidence that were suitable for modern forensic analysis.

The Los Angeles County Crime Lab ultimately implicated Albert Clark in the crime. He was arrested on December 7, 2015, and remains in custody at the Los Angeles County Jail with bail set at $2 million.

Deputy District Attorney Ryan Erlich is prosecuting.

Pretrial for Jose Gabriel Diaz Servellon, June 27

Jose Gabriel Diaz Servellon, 30, is facing charges of kidnapping, assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury, and criminal threats for allegedly grabbing a woman and trying to put her in his pickup truck on July 29, 2017.

The victim, then 19, was walking near Maple Street and Fair Oaks Avenue when the defendant allegedly pulled over in front of her and waited for her to pass him by, prosecutors said. When the woman passed by, Diaz Servellon allegedly grabbed the woman and dragged her on the ground toward his truck while threatening her life.

The defendant allegedly released the woman and fled the scene when a Good Samaritan driving by saw what was happening and pulled over.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges in August.

Diaz Servellon is being held in lieu of $500,000 bail; he faces up to nine years in state prison if convicted.

Deputy District Attorney Melanie Drew is prosecuting.

Jury Trial for Anthony Seth Mcdaniel, June 27

Anthony Seth McDaniel, 41, is charged with two felony counts of kidnapping to commit oral copulation, after allegedly kidnapping two women on April 30, 2016 for the purpose of sexually assaulting them while he was wearing a court-ordered ankle monitor.

The charges included allegations that he caused great bodily injury to one of the victims and that he had a previous conviction in 2008 of assault with intent to commit a sexual assault.

McDaniel allegedly invited two women to get into his truck to give them a ride. Instead, he reportedly took the women to a different location in an attempt to sexually assault them. One of the women jumped from the moving truck and suffered a fractured ankle. The other was allegedly threatened with a gun but managed to escape when the suspect allegedly pushed her out of the vehicle after a collision on the freeway.

McDaniel is being held on $2 million bail. On May 20, 2016, he pleaded not guilty to the charges. If convicted as charged, he could face two life terms in state prison.

Deputy District Attorney Fernanda Barreto is prosecuting.