Family of Murdered Man Holds Vigil at Shooting Site on Anniversary Today, Pleads for Help to Catch Killer

The family of Robert Calderon, a 27-year-old Altadena resident who was gunned down on December 18 last year in the 600 block of North Mentor Avenue in Pasadena and whose murder has not been solved, will hold a vigil on the first anniversary of his death at the site where he was killed with the hope that will motivate someone to come forward with information to help bring Calderon’s murderer to justice.

His mother, Sarah Mendoza-Jaime, said the family is hopeful they will find justice. They continue, she said, to help the authorities work to solve the crime and arrest the killer.

“It will be a year after Robert was murdered and there is still no justice. We’re hoping going to church [this Sunday] morning and having a mass for Robert. We will pray for the best outcome,” Mendoza-Jaime said.

“We want to go to the vigil and represent that although there still has not been justice, we’re not going to give up; we’re going to continue to do what it takes to get justice for my son.”

Mendoza-Jaime said that family and concerned members of the community plan to attend mass starting at 9:30 a.m. this Sunday, December 18, at the site where Calderon was killed last year.

After mass, they plan to go to the family’s residence, and then return to the site later in the afternoon for an overnight candlelight vigil.

No suspects have been arrested for Calderon’s murder, but Mendoza-Jaime is finding fresh hope in a new detective who was assigned to the case in July.

A $20,000 reward, arranged through Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich’s office, has been offered to anyone who offers information that leads to the arrest of the suspect or suspects.

“There is still an active investigation and detectives are working vigorously to help bring closure to the family. Our condolences and prayers are with the family,” said Lt. Vasken Gourdikian, the Public Information Officer for the Pasadena Police Department.

Calderon was struck by gunfire several times during his fatal shooting at about 10:45 last December 18.

Police received several calls about the shooting, and when they responded to the scene they found Calderon slumped near the sidewalk. He was pronounced dead later in a nearby hospital.

The night after Calderon’s murder, Saturday, December 19, a group of about thirty mourners at an impromptu vigil for Calderon on Claremont Street were reportedly shot at by an unknown assailant at about 11:15 p.m. At least one person in the group of mourners apparently returned fire. A woman was shot twice in the incident and was in a hospital for several days. Authorities could not determine whether the people who shot Calderon were the same group who shot at the mourners.

Mendoza-Jaime said with a new detective assigned to the case, she is now getting a regular update about the case, and this is giving her new hope that justice will be served.

The family and authorities ask that anyone with information about Calderon’s murder please call Pasadena Police Det. Lt. Jesse Carrillo at (626) 744-4518. If you want to remain anonymous, the police have systems in place to assure your anonymity.

There are three ways to provide information 24 hours a day, seven days a week about crimes that have been committed in Pasadena:

* By phone – Call (800) 222-8477 and just leave the information.
* By text – Enter the numbers 274637 in the “To” line, then type the word TIPLA, a space, and as much specific information as possible. After hitting “send,” Crime Stoppers will reply to the text with a code that should be kept for use if further text dialog is needed. Be sure to keep the code in a safe place and delete all related messages from your text outbox and inbox.
* Online – Visit Anonymous Tip Line and click on Give a tip.