Pasadena Police Recap Week’s Critical Incidents

On November 27, Pasadena Police officers responded to the 1200 block of Sierra Madre Villa regarding a residential burglary. The suspect(s) took several pieces of antique furniture and left the location prior to our arrival.  On December 1, two subjects (male and female) contacted a local antiques dealer, displayed the items stolen from the burglary, and asked the dealer if she wanted to buy the property. Unbeknownst to the subjects, the dealer recognized the items and knew they were stolen.  The antique dealer obtained the subject’s address and was told there were more items at the location.  The information was shared with PPD officers, who obtained a search warrant. When the warrant was served, PPD officers located several other items taken in the Sierra Madre Villa burglary.  The suspects were not at the location when the warrant was served; however, officers know their identity. Involved police personnel included:  Sergeant Marie Sell, Corporals Rich Padilla and Todd McDonald, Officers Joe Reinbold, Alex Torres, Robert Christian, andAnthony McGlade.

On December 1 at about 12:28 p.m., Pasadena Police officers responded to the area of Lincoln Avenue and Wyoming Street regarding a gunshot victim. On arrival, officers located the victim, a Male/Black adult, who was suffering from a single gunshot wound to his lip/mouth. The victim was conscious and alert.  He said he was walking on Lincoln Avenue when the suspect shot him from a passing vehicle.  The victim could not describe the shooter or the vehicle. He was transported to a local hospital for treatment. Pasadena Police Detectives were notified – our investigation is ongoing.  If you or others have information about this incident, please call the Pasadena Police Department at (626) 744-4241, or the information can be reported anonymously through CRIME STOPPERS (800) 222-8477.

On December 3 at about 3:53 p.m., Pasadena Police officers responded to the area of California Boulevard, between Euclid Street and Bellevue Avenue, regarding a power outage.  A underground transformer failed, which cut power to several signal lights in the area.  PPD officers initially provided traffic control until they were relieved by Pasadena Police Volunteers Art Wetton, David Kilgore, and Vic Balozian.

On December 4 at about 2:59 p.m., Pasadena Police Officer Darryl Harris observed a traffic violation involving a motorcycle in the area of Lake Avenue and Mountain Street. Darryl attempted to stop the rider; however, the suspect failed to yield.  Darryl initiated a vehicle pursuit, which lasted about 1 minute.  Darryl located the motorcycle; however, the rider was not found. Our investigation is ongoing – Sergeant John Luna supervised the incident.

On December 5 at about 4:30 p.m., Pasadena Police officers responded to the 300 block of West Colorado Boulevard regarding a robbery.  On arrival, the victim said he was walking west on Colorado Boulevard, when two Male Hispanics approached him and demanded is property.  The suspects were holding liquor bottles (as weapons) at the time of the robbery.  The suspect then fled the scene.

On December 6 at about 6:39 a.m., Pasadena Police officers responded to the 30 block of South Sierra Madre Boulevard regarding an attempted Grand Theft.  On arrival, the victims said they were at their residence when they heard a loud noise on the front porch.  The victims looked outside and saw two Males attempting to steal their bicycles. The victims called the police department and officers quickly arrived.  One suspect was arrested without incident, but the second suspect is outstanding.

On December 6 at about 10:30 a.m., Detectives assigned to the West San Gabriel Valley Anti-Crime Taskforce (WSGVACTF) were monitoring a suspect in the 100 block of North Michigan Avenue.  After developing sufficient probable cause, detectives requested assistance from uniformed Pasadena Police Officers Ralph Ordonez and Elgin Lee. Ralph and Lee stopped the vehicle and contacted the occupants.  The subsequent investigations lead to the recovery of 3.5 pounds of marijuana and U.S. Currency.  The suspects were arrested without incident.

On December 8, at about 2:30 a.m., Pasadena Police officers responded to the area of Lake Avenue and Washington Boulevard regarding a disturbance.  The first police officer on scene observed what appeared to be a domestic dispute between a female and male inside a parked vehicle. As the officer attempted to investigate, the vehicle quickly pulled away from the curb (at the time it appeared the female was in distress and the officer could hear the female screaming from inside the subject’s car). The driver of the vehicle failed to yield to the officers and a vehicle pursuit was initiated. The pursuit terminated on Sierra Madre Villa, just north of Foothill Blvd. At the end of the pursuit, the driver exited the car and was extremely uncooperative.  The suspect failed to comply with the officer’s verbal orders to surrender.  At some point in the contact / arrest process, officers were compelled to use less lethal force to subdue the suspect. The female in the vehicle and 2nd male passenger were contacted and detained without incident.  The driver was arrested for Felony Evading and it appeared he was under the influence of a controlled substance.  The female and remaining male was released – they were not injured in the incident.   No PPD officers were injured and the pursuit was well supervised by the field sergeant. The Watch Commander was at the scene as the Incident Commander.

On December 7 at about 4:30 p.m., Pasadena Police officers assigned to the Department’s Special Enforcement Section (SES) served a search warrant at a residence in the 400 block of North Garfield Avenue.  The SES officers recovered a quantity of methamphetamine and arrested the suspect without incident.

On December 8 at about 10:52 a.m. Pasadena Police officers responded to a motel located in the 2800 block of East Colorado Blvd regarding a car fire in the parking lot.  On arrival the officers determined the owner of the vehicle was despondent and wanted to commit suicide.  The officer’s investigation revealed the victim placed a five gallon container of gasoline inside his car and ignited it while seated in the vehicle.  The heat became intense quickly and the victim exited the car.  The victim was located at the scene in fair condition; however, he required medical attention and was transported to a local hospital for evaluation.  PFD Arson investigator Wendell Eaton was notified and responded to the scene.