Six Suspects Arrested in Connection With Fatal Shooting on Angeles Crest Highway

The Pasadena Police Department on Wednesday said that six suspects have been arrested in connection with a fatal shooting on Angeles Crest Highway in Pasadena on Saturday, and they believe the suspects may also be connected to a double homicide that occurred just days later in Rancho Palos Verdes. 

Investigators did not immediately identify the suspects, citing the ongoing investigation.

Pasadena police Lt. Keith Gomez said the suspects are members of a Los Angeles criminal street gang that carries out robberies of people “parked in scenic turnouts,” noting that the victims were usually “distracted” when the attacks occurred.

Jessie Munoz, 32, was shot and killed early Saturday morning. A female passenger in the car with him was not injured.

During a press conference outside Pasadena Police headquarters on Wednesday, Gomez said police had been doggedly working the case since it happened and were able to identify the suspects and make the arrests.

The vehicle involved in the murder was pinned in by law enforcement in the 7600 Block of Woodman Street in Panorama City. Five male adult suspects were taken into custody without incident. 

A female suspect was simultaneously taken into custody in the 900 Block of West 85th Street in Los Angeles and a search warrant was executed at multiple locations. 

Police recovered two handguns and two rifles. 

“Thanks to some technology, we were able to identify two suspects and a suspect vehicle late Monday evening,” Gomez said. “We arrested six suspects connected to the homicide that occurred up in Angeles Crest. We impounded a vehicle we believe was involved in that homicide.”

Mayor Victor Gordo expressed his “deepest sympathies to the families and friends of the victims.”

Gordo also praised Pasadena police and other law enforcement agencies for their “immediate and tireless efforts to investigate, identify the suspects and quickly bring them in in order to stop these heinous acts of violence across our communities.”

City Manager Miguel Márquez was also on hand to praise the efforts of the department.

“I’m proud of the team,” Márquez said. “They worked around the clock to catch these guys.”

According to Gomez, the suspects are part of a street gang and the motive for the crime was robbery. 

The homicide is the first one in Pasadena this year, according to Pasadena police. 

Gomez would not comment on the homicide in Ranchos Palos Verdes investigation because the case is being handled by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. 

In that case, Jorge Ramos and Taylor Raven Whittaker were found dead in a vehicle parked by a cliffside near Pelican Cove Park in Rancho Palos Verdes. The similarities in the cases could mean the suspects were targeting parked cars near secluded overlooks. 

The U.S. Marshal’s Pacific Southwest Region Fugitive Apprehension Taskforce, the  Pasadena Police Department’s Street Crime Unit, LAPD RHD, and LAPD Air Support Division assisted with the arrest/warrant operation.

“Everything that we have gathered over the last couple days, as far as investigative leads, facts, we have forwarded that to the sheriff’s department and other agencies that are investigating crimes that may be connected to our suspects,” Gomez said.