Six Significant Pasadena Criminal Cases In Court This Week

This week, six major Pasadena criminal cases will move forward in Los Angeles Superior Court. Here are profiles of each of these cases:

Tuesday, Aug. 16, 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 in connection with the crime, 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.

Wednesday, Aug. 17, 8:30 a.m. Preliminary Hearing Date Setting for Marcos Alexander Flores

Marcos Alexander Flores, 37, of Pasadena, is charged with three counts of discharge of a firearm with gross negligence in connection with shootings in the Pasadena area on Dec. 20 and Dec. 22, 2021, and on Jan. 19, 2022, in which no one was injured. 

Flores was arrested on Jan. 27 in connection with shootings on Lincoln Ave., Summit Ave., and Lotus Ave. He is currently detained with bail set at $280,000.

The hearing will be at Dept. H of the Pasadena Courthouse.

Wednesday, Aug. 17, 8:30 a.m., Status Conference in Racial Discrimination Suit filed by Hansol Lee against the City of Pasadena

Lee was a former environmental health specialist for the City of Pasadena who alleges that she was fired in 2018 after three months on the job because she is Asian. She maintains she was subjected to unfair scrutiny compared to her non-Asian work colleagues and was told she lost her job allegedly because of complaints from business owners and her poor interaction with co-workers. 

The status conference will be held at Dept. 24 of the LA County Courthouse at 111 N. Hill Street in Los Angeles. 

Thursday, Aug. 18, 8:30 a.m. Preliminary Hearing for Christopher Paul Hall

Christopher Paul Hall, 22, of Pasadena, is accused of killing two men and wounding another person in a shooting on Dec. 1, 2020. He faces two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder in connection with the shooting, which occurred in the Northeast portion of Villa Parke in Pasadena. 

Prosecutors said Hall fatally shot Pasadena residents Christino Medellin Avila, 51, and Aaron Perez Flores, 40. Avila died at the scene. Flores was rushed to the hospital where he died a short time later.

Hall remains in custody, with bail set at over $5 million. 

The hearing will be at Dept. H of the Pasadena Courthouse.

Thursday, Aug. 18, 8:30 a.m. Preliminary Hearing Date Setting for Valentino Gutierrez

Valentino Gutierrez, 61, homeless, is charged with murdering his wife in January 2018 and then taking a train from Pasadena to Los Angeles, where the woman’s remains were allegedly set on fire in a suitcase in the parking lot of a Home Depot store. He faces one count each of murder and arson of property. He also is accused of using an accelerant.

Gutierrez was arrested on February 2, 2018, by a large contingent of Los Angeles police, after firefighters and police discovered the remains of his wife. Detectives traced him to Pasadena.

Gutierrez is currently being held at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles, with bail set at $2.17 million.

If convicted as charged, Gutierrez faces a possible maximum sentence of life in prison.

The hearing will be at Dept. H of the Pasadena Courthouse.

Thursday, Aug. 18, 8:30 a.m. Further Proceedings for Oscar Villamil

Oscar Villamil, 44, homeless, is charged with the murder of an 80-year-old woman who was attacked in Pasadena on Dec. 29, 2020, while out for her morning walk with her husband. She died of her injuries a week later. Villamil is also charged with elder abuse of the victim’s husband.

Villamil was arrested on Jan. 5, 2021, the day that the victim died while in a hospital. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges since. He remains in custody with bail set at $2 million.

The hearing will be at Dept. H of the Pasadena Courthouse.