Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES – Authorities announced 13 arrests and the seizure of 114 firearms and more than 49,000 rounds of ammunition in a five-day sweep across Los Angeles County to keep the weapons and ammo out of the hands of criminals.
Agents from the California Department of Justice Bureau of Firearms partnered with police departments from Azusa, Pasadena, Pomona, the City of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles County Probation Department and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Authorities targeted 51 cities and arrested individuals prohibited from possessing firearms, according to the California Department of Justice. The sweep began February 14. Firearms seized reportedly included 55 handguns, 19 rifles, 15 shotguns, 17 assault weapons, and 8 ghost guns, according to the California Department of Justice. The arrests were aided by the state DOJ’s Armed and Prohibited Persons System, in which the arrestees were identified as being prohibited from possessing firearms. “Pasadena Police Department is excited about partnering with the California Department of Justice in an effort to stop gun violence," Interim Pasadena Police Chief Cheryl Moody said. "This collaboration will certainly benefit those communities most impacted by individuals who illegally possess or use firearms.” The Armed and Prohibited Persons System was launched in California 16 years ago. California was the first to launch such a database. “California’s Armed and Prohibited Persons System is a critical tool that makes the work of cracking down on illegal gun ownership and possession possible,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “Last week, using APPS and working together with our law enforcement partners in Southern California, our teams removed 114 firearms from individuals who are no longer legally allowed to own or possess firearms or ammunition. Collaborative efforts like these increase our success in taking guns out of potentially dangerous hands, reducing gun violence, and keeping our neighborhoods safe.” Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES – A San Marino man who was recorded while accelerating towards a crowd of protestors in Old Town Pasadena May 31 last year pleaded guilty to 11 felony weapons charges, prosecutors said Thursday.
Benjamin Jong Ren Hung, 28, entered into a plea agreement filed April 29 and pleaded guilty to conspiracy, transporting and receiving firearms across state lines, making false statements during purchases of firearms, possession of unregistered firearms and illegally transporting firearms across state lines to California, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Hung admitted to making false statements to gun dealers in the state of Washington when purchasing four rifles and a shotgun in March 2020, falsely claiming he was a Washington resident. “The firearms dealers were not legally permitted to sell firearms to California residents,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Hung also admitted to taking part in a multi-year conspiracy in making false statements to arms dealers in Oregon to illegally transport weapons to California. He paid a co-conspirator to purchase handguns for him and had the co-conspirator claim he was Hung. The weapons were then delivered by the co-conspirator to Hung. This elaborate scheme was concocted to elude California’s strict gun laws, Hung stated in the plea agreement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Hung also admitted to illegally possessing three unregistered short-barreled semiautomatic rifles, which were seized from his Lodi home in September 2020, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. In his plea agreement, Hung admitted to taking a Glock 26 9mm handgun to a George Floyd protest May 31, 2020, where he used his customized Dodge pickup truck to antagonize protesters. Hung accelerated towards the intersection, sounded the truck’s train horn he had installed, briefly stopped, then continued through the intersection, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. As Hung fled, his truck left a large cloud of exhaust, an act sometimes referred to as “coal rolling,” Hung was found and arrested by Pasadena Police. A date for Hung to appear in court to formally enter the guilty pleas has not yet been set. This matter was investigated by the FBI’s Los Angeles Joint Terrorism Task Force, FBI civil rights squads and the Pasadena Police Department, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - A man accused of driving a truck through a protest in Pasadena May 31 was found with an illegally-obtained weapon, part of a cache of weapons believed to be amassed for acts of civil disorder.
Benjamin Jong Ren Hung, 28, was charged with one count of conspiracy to transport firearms across state lines and to make a false statement in acquisition of firearms. Prosecutors allege Hung, a San Marino resident, acquired a cache of four weapons purchased in Oregon and then transported across the state line into California, according to an affidavit filed with the complaint against Hung. A friend of Hung purchased one handgun in Oregon and allegedly falsely stated that he was the transferee of the weapon, rather than Hung. The weapon was transported to California and kept in Hung’s home prior to the May 31 protest, the affidavit stated. In March, Hung allegedly purchased three additional handguns himself in Oregon and transported them to California. “[Hung] also allegedly amassed other firearms and tactical equipment from suppliers throughout the United States and used his family’s vineyard in Lodi, California as a training camp to prepare to engage in civil disorders,” the affidavit stated. Hung was arrested after attempting to drive through protestors on a street in Old Town Pasadena May 31. Protesters scattered as a truck approached. No one was injured. Pasadena Police searched Hung’s truck and found a loaded semiautomatic handgun, multiple high-capacity magazines loaded with ammunition, an 18-inch machete, $3,200 in cash, a long metal pipe and a megaphone,” the affidavit stated. If convicted as charged, Hung could face a statutory maximum of five years in federal prison, authorities said. This incident was investigated by the FBI’s Los Angeles Joint Terrorism Task Force and Civil Rights squads and the Pasadena Police Department. Hung was ordered detained at an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles Wednesday. He is scheduled for bail status hearing September 28. He is scheduled to be arraigned October 15. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LONG BEACH - San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a suspect January 31 believed to have robbed banks in Pasadena, Ontario and Rancho Cucamonga. San Bernardino County man Steven Ray Simmons, 48, was located by San Bernardino County deputies at a Long Beach motel. Evidence found in Simmons’ motel room linked him to a Pasadena bank robbery, according to the Pasadena Police Department. A Chase Bank, 132 E. Colorado Blvd., was robbed January 30 at 2:14 p.m. A demand note was handed to the bank teller. The suspect fled before officers arrived and escaped with $3,200, Pasadena police said. The FBI responded to investigate the Pasadena robbery and believed the suspect also previously committed bank robberies in Ontario and Rancho Cucamonga.
“Pasadena police detectives collaborated with Ontario Police Department and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department to determine if, in fact, it was the same suspect. All available evidence suggests the same suspect is responsible for the three robberies,” Pasadena Police said in a written statement. Anyone with information about this case is urged to call the Pasadena Police Department at 626-744-4241. Information can be provided anonymously by calling L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477); through the P3 Tips mobile app, or at lacrimestoppers.org. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor MOUNTAINS - A dead body was discovered on Angeles Crest Highway early Wednesday. The body was discovered along the mountain road near mile marker 26.87. Deputies responded after receiving a 9-1-1 call of a possible person down near what was described as the first turnount. Deputies were called around 1:13 a.m. November 6. The body is apparently within Pasadena Police jurisdiction, according to Lt. Ryan Vienna of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Crescenta Valley Station. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - Investigators are still working on positively identifying both men killed in a head-on crash in Pasadena September 2. Two men described as being in their 20s died at the scene of a crash after the driver of a black Toyota Corolla destroyed an LED radar in the 500 block of North Orange Grove Boulevard just before 11 p.m., Pasadena Police said.
The driver and left rear passenger were killed in the crash, which injured two other of the Corolla’s passengers. The injured passengers were hospitalized in stable condition, Pasadena Police said. Evidence at the scene suggested speed played a factor in the crash. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - Authorities identified the 69-year-old woman who was found dead in a parking lot July 14. Pamela Cross was identified by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. The cause of death has been deferred pending additional investigation. Cross was declared dead Sunday afternoon in a medical building parking lot at 50 Alessandro Pl. “She looks to have been the victim of an assault,” said Lt. Mark Goodman of the Pasadena Police Department. “We are investigating as a possible homicide.”
Goodman declined to disclose the nature of the injuries. There is no suspect description at this time. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - The alleged armed and armored suspect officers accused of pointing a rifle at them May 17 died by police gunfire, the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner said. Daniel Warren, 36, died as the result of gunshot wounds to the right thigh and left axilla (left underarm), according to public data released by the coroner. Pasadena police encountered Warren in a fenced yard at a home in the 1500 block of Glen Avenue after responding to a man with a gun call at 6:30 p.m. Warren allegedly yelled at officers and pointed the rifle at them. Police opened fire, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau.
Warren retreated to the rear yard of the home after taking gunfire. Officers approached the yard and found him unresponsive. Paramedics later declared him dead, homicide detectives said. A handgun and rifle equipped with a “large capacity drum-style magazine” were found near Warren who fired at least one round, homicide detectives said. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION - A 41-year-old convicted sex offender will spend the next 28 years to life in prison after being found guilty of kidnaping two women in Pasadena. Anthony Seth McDaniel was sentenced Monday. He was found Guilty October 17, 2018 of two felony counts of kidnapping to commit oral copulation, according to Ricardo Santiago of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. McDaniel convinced the two women to get in his truck April 30, 2016 after offering them a ride in Pasadena. It is believed he intended to take them to his Compton home, said Deputy District Attorney Fernanda Barreto.
To escape, one woman leapt from his moving truck while on a 210 freeway on ramp in Pasadena, Barreto said. The second woman caused a collision on the 110 freeway in Downton Los Angeles and escaped as well, Barreto said. McDaniel was wearing an ankle monitor during the kidnappings, having been convicted in 2008 for assault with intent to commit rape, Barreto said. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES – A transient has been charged with one count of murder in the strangulation killing of a Pasadena woman, the County DA said Tuesday. Mary Jean O’Connor, 41, was charged in the December 17 death of Jeri Douglas. Pasadena Police discovered Douglas’ dead body in her home, according to Ricardo Santiago of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Officers had to force entry into Douglas’ home in the 200 block of South Madison Avenue around 3:40 p.m. She was found with apparent head trauma to the body, according to the Pasadena Police Department.
O'Connor was identified by investigators, was found in North Hollywood December 26 and arrested, Pasadena Police said. The two women were acquaintences. |
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