Pasadena Teen Father Sentenced to 25 Years to Life For Killing Infant Son

A teenaged Pasadena father was sentenced Thursday to 25 years to life in prison for the beating death of his infant son, authorities said.

The defendant, now 18, was sent to a Division of Juvenile Justice facility, a spokesman for the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office said.

“The teen was sentenced to 25 years to life and sent to a Division of Juvenile Justice facility,” Greg Risling, Public Information Officer at the District Attorney’s Office, said. “Since this was handled in juvenile court, he will be eligible for release when he is 25.”

On the morning of February 4, 2018, Pasadena Fire Department paramedics who responded to a 911 call found the infant victim not breathing at the home in the 1600 block of Kenneth Way in Pasadena.

The victim, Brandon Blackburn, died just a month shy of his second birthday. Authorities said he died from blunt force injuries.

The then 16-year-old father was arrested on July 10, 2018 during a follow-up interview in which Pasadena police officers obtained a confession that he had struck the infant several times with his fist.

After the arrest and subsequent presentation by the Pasadena Police Department, the District Attorney’s office filed one count of homicide and one count of assault resulting in the death of a child under eight years of age against the suspect.

On October 23 last year, the father admitted to voluntary manslaughter and assault on a child causing death, the District Attorney’s Office said.