Quiet Pasadena Neighborhood Reeling from Violent Home Invasion Robbery

Editor’s Note: This story originally said that the victims were two women because that is what Pasadena police reported. It also said five suspects were involved, because that is what police originally reported. Subsequently, after investigation, the picture changed and police revised their statements. This often happens with developing stories. Pasadena Now accurately reported the facts as known at the time they were reported.

[Updated] The quiet residential Brigden Ranch neighborhood of northeast Pasadena is reeling from a violent home invasion robbery Sunday night during which four armed suspects broke into a home and terrorized an elderly couple before stealing cash and jewelry and injuring the man.

The unusual robbery and assault took place at 9:26 p.m. in the usually quiet 2000 block of Brigden Road, according to Pasadena police Lieutenant Max Dahlstein said.

One of the women, who is 86 years old, suffered head injuries and was transported to a local hospital for treatment. Her companion, age 79, was uninjured.

More than one of the robbers were armed with handguns, Dahlstein said.

Police spent hours at the scene Sunday night and Monday interviewing neighbors and collecting forensic evidence.

No suspect descriptions have yet been released by police. No arrests have been made.

District 2 Councilmember Margaret McAustin, who represents the neighborhood, said the aggressive home invasion style robbery “is highly unusual in Pasadena.”

Donn Dufford, President of the Brigden Ranch Neighborhood Association and who has lived in the neighborhood for 40 years, agrees with McAustin.

Dufford said there’s never been a home invasion robbery in the neighborhood he can recall and that the area is “very safe.”

“It’s very sad for the victims,” Dufford said. “Some feel that the sky is falling. We have to be more vigilant and we have to look after our neighbors.”

McAustin said her office is in the process of arranging a neighborhood meeting with the police department to go over what happened, what the police know and what people can do to prevent these kinds of situations.

Pasadena Police Department spokesperson Lt. Jason Clawson said residents can take steps to “harden the target” when it comes to protecting their home.

Clawson said taking steps like installing security cameras, following the two foot/six foot rule (meaning your shrubs shouldn’t be greater than two feet in height and your tree canopy shouldn’t be below six feet) so you have four feet natural surveillance when you’re looking out a window, and installing security latches offer some protection.

In the end, Clawson said, it’s not just one or two victims, that whole neighborhood was victimized.

“So I think that working together to stop crimes like this is very important for us,” Clawson said. “We try to collaborate with neighbors to build a safer neighborhood.”

Anyone with information about this case is encouraged to call Pasadena Police at (626)- 744-4241, or you may report information anonymously by calling “Crime Stoppers” at (800) 222-TIPS (8477); by using your smartphone to download the “P3 Tips” mobile app on Google Play or the Apple App Store; or by using the website www.lacrimestoppers.org.