Four High-Profile Pasadena Cases in Court This Week

This week, three high-profile Pasadena-related cases will move forward in the Pasadena Courthouse of the Los Angeles Superior Court and one in the County Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles. Here’s a brief profile of each of these cases.

Monday, January 10, 8:30 a.m. Arraignment for Cecilio Hernandez

Cecilio Hernandez, 24, of Pasadena, is charged along with a 16-year-old boy in a shooting in Pasadena that left one man dead and another critically wounded.

The incident happened on Oct. 25 last year in the 1000 block of Summit Ave. The victim, identified as Jamal Patterson, 24, died at a hospital three days after the crime from a gunshot wound to the head.

Hernandez faces one count of murder along with one count each of attempted murder and possession of a firearm by a felon. He is in custody, with bail set at $5.1 million.

The hearing will be at Department D of the Pasadena Courthouse.

Monday, January 10, 8:30 a.m. Pretrial Hearing for Daniel Cervantes

Daniel Cervantes, 32, is charged with murder in connection with the shooting death of a 22-year-old man whose body was found near Angeles Crest Highway in the Pasadena area on Nov. 6, 2019. He was arrested a day after the crime and has pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The victim was Julio Robles-Castaneda, 22. A 16-year-old boy was also arrested, but the status of any case against him was not immediately known.

Cervantes remains in custody, with bail set at $3 million.

The hearing will be held in Department F of the Pasadena Courthouse.

Friday, January 13, 8:30 a.m. Preliminary Hearing for Evan Roland Bynum and Dante Dejuan Ward

Evan Roland Bynum, 26, of Los Angeles, and Dante Dejuan Ward, 33, of Irvine, are charged in a shooting outside a Pasadena taco restaurant on March 13 that left a man dead and a woman wounded.

The shooting took place just before 9 p.m. in a parking lot outside a strip mall at the northeast corner of Foothill Boulevard and Altadena Drive, according to Pasadena police officers.

The victims were seated in a parked car when they were fired on.

Bernardo Cortez Velasco, 23, of Azusa, was taken to a hospital but died the following morning. A 19-year-old Duarte woman in the car was struck by flying glass but suffered no major injuries.

The hearing will be in Department H of the Pasadena Courthouse.

Friday, January 13, 8:30 a.m. Post-mediation Status Conference for Lynda Browning’s lawsuit against Huntington Hospital

Lynda Browning has filed a lawsuit against Huntington Hospital and its parent company, Huntington Health Physicians, in April 2021 alleging she was the victim of age discrimination when she was stripped of her job in 2019 at age 60 despite reportedly being told by management that she would be rehired if she voluntarily resigns.

The lawsuit alleges wrongful termination, age discrimination, retaliation and failure to prevent discrimination and retaliation. Browning is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

Browning was hired at the hospital in the pediatrics department in January 1995, and her duties included triaging patients, assessing their needs, administering medications and advising people on home care for their children, according to the suit.

In April 2019, the hospital’s human resources department notified Browning that her nursing license had expired. She was placed off work for two weeks, but renewed her license in half that time, the suit states. Management, however, told her in May 2019 that she should resign so that she could then be rehired, according to her court papers. She did submit a resignation letter, relying on the representation, the papers said.

When she reapplied about six weeks later, she was not rehired and her position was filled with a woman about 30 years younger who was not licensed at the time, according to the lawsuit.

The hearing will be at Department 47 of the County Courthouse, at 111 N. Hill Street in Los Angeles.