Loved Ones Mourn Pasadena Shooting Victim, Seek Answers

Family members are trying to make sense of the fatal shooting of a 27-year-old man in Pasadena over last weekend as they work to raise funds for his funeral.

Ernesto Ramos Jimenez died after he was shot about 8:15 p.m. on Friday along Parke Street, between Marengo and Garfield avenues, according to Pasadena police and Los Angeles County coroner officials.

He was walking down the sidewalk when he came under fire, police said. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene. No suspect description or motive has been released.

Jimenez was well-known and well-liked in his community and had no ties to gangs, sister Jesica Validiva said. Due to a developmental disability, she likened his mind to that of a 12- or 13-year-old child.

“He was not in gangs or a bad person,” she said. “The only thing that we know at this point, it was that he wasn’t an easy target or whoever said this.”

Jimenez had just eaten a bowl of cereal and gone outside for a walk when he was killed, Valdivia said.

Around 8:10 p.m., “[our mother] heard the shots. But she didn’t think it was my brother, because he left the house 10 minutes before,” she said.

“Suddenly, one lady came over to my mom’s house, knocking on her door and saying, ‘Oh, Maria, Maria, your son is dead on the sidewalk.’”

“She ran to the street. It was already taped off, so she couldn’t see my brother in his last minute,” Valdivia said.

Jimenez had been wounded in another shooting about a block away from his home in 2015, Pasadena police Lt. Jesse Carrillo said.

He was standing with a group of people in the 500 block of North Marengo Avenue when attackers approached in a car, opened fire and fled, according to the lieutenant. Jimenez was among three victims who were struck by the gunfire.

The 2015 shooting remains unsolved, Carrillo said.

A memorial of candles and flowers marked the shooting scene on Friday.

To help raise funds for Jimenez’s service, family members planned to sell pupusas and menudo from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday at 623 N. Marengo Avenue, Valdivia said.

Both police and loved ones urged anyone with information to come forward.

“We just want justice for my brother and whoever did this to him,” Valdivia said.

Anyone with information can reach the Pasadena Police Department at (626) 744-4501. Tips may also be submitted anonymously to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.

See also:

Pasadena Man Killed in Friday Night Shooting Identified

Local Man Killed in Pasadena Shooting Friday Night