Pasadena Police Chief Recaps Last Week’s Critical Incidents

On March 11, at about 7:15 p.m., the Special Enforcement Section (SES), which includes gang officers, served a search warrant at a residence in the 1200 block of North Raymond Avenue. The warrant service was part of an ongoing attempted murder investigation, which occurred in September 2014 near Raymond Avenue and Claremont Street. At that time, the suspect fired at a passing vehicle. The case was assigned to Pasadena Police Gang Officer David Garcia, who completed a comprehensive 6-month investigation. Subsequently, Officer Garcia identified Gabriel Banuelos, Male Hispanic, Pasadena Resident and a known local gang member, as the shooter.

Detective Garcia applied for a search warrant for the Raymond Avenue Residence based on his investigation, and the warrant was approved by a judge. During the search warrant, Special Enforcement and Gang Officers recovered three guns (two semi-automatic pistols and one revolver. Two of the three were fully loaded. Photographs of the guns were taken after they had been preserved for evidence). Banuelos was taken into custody without incident and booked for attempted murder at the Pasadena jail. This is an exceptional case by all officers involved, especially Investigator Garcia and Special Enforcement and Gang Officers. Very well done! (The pistols are pictured above.)

On March 9 at 4:20 p.m., Pasadena Police Officers Saunders and Gligorijevic responded to a report of a person attempting to hang himself from a tree near Green Street & Saint John Avenue. On arrival, the officers found the victim hanging from a tree in an apparent suicide attempt. Officer Gligorijevic lifted the victim upward while Officer Saunders removed the noose, likely saving the victim’s life. PFD was called and transported the victim to a local hospital in stable condition. Great work by Pasadena Police Officers Saunders and Gligorijevic!

On March 11 at about 9:45 p.m., Pasadena Police officers responded to a traffic collision near Lida Street and Linda Vista Avenue. On arrival, officers determined that a vehicle traveling north on Linda Vista Avenue attempted a left turn (westbound) on to Lida Street. During the turning movement, the driver was hit by a vehicle traveling south on Linda Vista Avenue. The driver of the northbound vehicle (P1) was not injured; however, the other driver (P2) was transported to a local hospital in serious condition. The department’s Traffic Section, Major Traffic Investigation Team, responded to investigate the incident. Party 1 was tested for driving while impaired and officers attempted to secure a voluntary blood sample. Our investigation is ongoing.

On March 13, at about 4:27 p.m., Pasadena Police officers assigned to the Special Enforcement Section (SES) were on routine patrol in a marked police car near Los Robles Avenue and Washington Boulevard when they attempted to stop a vehicle for a traffic violation. Initially, the vehicle did not yield but ultimately stopped near Garfield Avenue and Howard Street. As officers approached the vehicle on foot, the driver suddenly drove away. Officers ran back to their patrol car and tried to catch up to the suspect vehicle. Officers lost sight of the suspect vehicle and abandoned the chase. There were no collisions or injuries associated with this incident. Our investigation is ongoing.