Suspects Arrested for Attempted Murder in Friday’s Drive-By Shooting

Pasadena Police Department Special Enforcement Section officers arrested two men last night for attempted murder after the pair fired shots from a vehicle at a group of Latino men walking in broad daylight along Hammond Street near North Fair Oaks Avenue Friday afternoon.

Lt. John Luna said the incident began at 3:33 p.m. when police received calls of shot fired near Robinson Park. Arriving officers found witnesses who described gunfire directed from a car towards a group on the sidewalk.

No one in the group targeted was struck and the group had left the scene by the time officers were at the scene, Luna said, but “officers from the Special Enforcement Section were able to get further suspect information from witnesses at the scene.”

Friday evening, SES officers responded to a radio call of a man with a gun in a suspicious group which had gathered.

“Upon contact, officers noticed that some of the subjects in the group matched the descriptions of the suspects involved in the shooting earlier at Fair Oaks and Hammond,” Lt. Luna said.

A field identification show-up was conducted and suspects were positively identified.

Police arrested Jorge Escobar, 18, of Pasadena and Jose Martinez, 19, of Altadena and transported both to the city jail. Luna said both were booked for attempted murder.

No gun was recovered, Luna said.