The Calderon Murder Investigation: Waiting for…Someone in the Know

It is said that silence is golden. But in the unsolved 2015 murder case of Robert Arthur Calderon, the silence is maddening.

On Dec. 18, Calderon’s family will mark the fourth anniversary of his killing in Pasadena, which remains shrouded in an unsettling silence that blocks justice and closure.

The case, to be sure, is not forgotten. Robert’s mother, Sarah Toni Mendoza Jaime, met with Pasadena police in October and was joined by City Councilmembers Tyron Hampton and Victor Gordo.

The problem with the update she heard is that police simply don’t have anything to update.

“The Councilmen attended the meeting with me to find out what the status was, what [police] are doing different, what’s going on,” Mendoza told Pasadena Now. “They said they’re still working on the case and that they are just hoping that somebody would speak, so that they can get a conviction.”

Robert Calderon was found by Pasadena police officers on the evening of Dec. 18, 2015, lying in the 600 block of North Mentor Avenue, where he was pronounced dead from multiple gunshot wounds.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Oct. 22, to reinstate a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person who gunned down the 27-year-old Altadenan.

The reported lack of recent activity does not necessarily signal the case has grown cold. It is just as likely Pasadena detectives are keeping their process and leads confidential and close to the vest.

“They can’t share that information with me,” Mendoza explained.

In this instance, such silence may be golden.

Criminal Investigations Division Lieutenant Jesse Carrillo explained that the investigation is ongoing and that means a tight lid on case-related news and facts.

“Unfortunately, there’s investigative things occurring that we don’t share, because we’re trying to see if we can gauge those who may have intimate details of what occurred that night about their willingness to share that with us,” Carrillo explained.

“And we’re just very careful not to have discussions in an open forum on what some of those details are, so that it doesn’t compromise the investigation or the statements that would potentially come forward.”

But information about what transpired that night apparently remains sealed in some souls tighter than a drum.

That’s the deadly kind of silence.

“When I reach out to the community,” said Mendoza, “nobody knows anything or they’re not going to say anything. People are afraid to talk. Although there were people with him that night, I don’t talk to them. I haven’t been able to reach [them]. They kind of avoid me.”

Carrillo confirmed Mendoza’s assessment.

“Those few things that we’ve done to stimulate and get folks to potentially talk about or come forward with — some of those intimate details — just haven’t been fruitful,” he said. “The unknown is whether folks feel intimidated or they’re just not at a place yet that they feel the courage to come forward and speak with us.”

Anyone with information about the shooting or about the suspects should call the Pasadena Police Department at (626) 744-4501, Police Detective Jordan Ling at (626) 744-4081.

If you wish to remain anonymous, you can provide that information through LA Crime Stoppers, by calling (800) 222-TIPS (8477), using your smartphone and downloading the P3Tips mobile app on Google Play or the Apple App Store, or by using the website www.lacrimestoppers.org.