Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

ALTADENA - Deputies are investigating a shooting that injured two victims Wednesday evening.

Firefighters were investigating a call of an unconscious person inside a home on La Venezia Court east of North Fair Oaks Avenue when a gunshot victim walked up to the firefighters. A few minutes later, firefighters reported an additional gunshot victim, according to Los Angeles County Fire Department radio traffic.

The shooting reportedly occurred around 6:20 p.m., December 11.

A possibly-related silver sedan was witnessed traveling southbound on Fair Oaks Avenue towards Woodbury Road and out of view, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department radio traffic.

It is not yet clear how many suspects were involved.

The condition of both shooting victims is not immediately known.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

ALTADENA - A man turned up at a hospital Thursday afternoon, hit by a bullet fired near an Altadena intersection.

The gunshot victim turned up at a hospital after deputies searched for evidence of a shooting near the intersection of Lincoln Avenue and Figueroa Drive, according to Lt. Julie Pinedo of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Crescenta Valley Station.

Deputies responded to reports of gunfire heard just before 5:30 p.m. Thursday, January 25. The search turned up no evidence of gunfire until deputies were informed of the wounded man, Pinedo told SGV CityWatch.

Witnesses reported two males fleeing the area where the shooting occurred. There was no description immediately available.

Pinedo did not immediately know if the man wounded by gunfire was the intended target. The man was later discharged from the hospital.

Investigators from the Sheriff’s Operation Safe Streets Bureau were called to the scene, Pinedo told SGV CityWatch.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

ALTADENA - A 19-year-old man suffered injuries considered not life-threatening after being shot during a brawl near.

Deputies were called just before midnight Saturday, June 3, to the area of East Calaveras Street and North Fair Oaks Avenue on a reported fight in the rear lot of the Foothill Masonic Lodge, 2533 Fair Oaks Ave., according to Sgt. Taylor of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Crescenta Valley Station.

The gunshot victim was transported to a hospital and treated for his injuries, Taylor told SGV CityWatch.

It is not yet publicly clear if any arrests have been made.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

ALTADENA - A man died at a hospital Wednesday after he was found shot early Wednesday.

Deputies with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Altadena Station were called to the 700 block of Owen Court March 22 just after 2:30 a.m. The victim was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced deceased.

No other information is available.

Anyone with information on this shooting is urged to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Remain anonymous by calling LA Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), through the P3Tips mobile app, or lacrimestoppers.org.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

ALTADENA - The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department recently released recordings of the response to and aftermath of a suspect attacking citizens in Altadena and the resulting police shooting that took the suspect’s life.

The suspect, 47-year-old Charles Towns, was walking along city streets attempting to stab multiple people and eventually did attack and injure a woman and one other person before being shot dead.

Deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Altadena Station were told a knife-wielding man was attempting to stab people at a gas station near Fair Oaks Avenue and Woodbury Road around 5:14 p.m. January 22. The weapon turned out to be a pair of scissors.

Deputies found Towns during his tirade and followed him to the 2100 block of El Sereno Avenue. Along the way, Towns attempted to stab a man who was casually leaning up against the truck while using a cellphone.

As deputies continued to follow Towns while in their patrol vehicles, he came upon a group of pedestrians who attempted to leave the area. He advanced towards the pedestrians and stabbed a woman in the face, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

One deputy rushed in to help the wounded woman. Towns attempted to stab another man. One deputy shot Towns who then fell to the ground, but he got back up and advanced towards deputies. He was shot again multiple times.

Los Angeles County Fire Department paramedics attempted to revive the man, but he died at the scene.

The California Department of Justice Law Enforcement Division assumed investigation of this fatal shooting to determined justification for the use of force, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

ALTADENA - One person was killed after being shot by a deputy Sunday afternoon.

The shooting took place in the 2100 block of El Sereno around 5:14 p.m. The suspect died at the scene, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

It is unclear what led to the shooting.

Possibly several other people were injured.

ALTADENA - Officials are now offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the man who pulled the trigger in the shooting death of a four-year-old boy nearly six years ago.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors authorized the reward increase to find the killer of Salvador Esparza III, a Monrovia boy who happened to have been visiting family in Altadena.

The shooting occurred around 10:40 p.m. July 5, 2016, after a man reportedly argued with the live-in boyfriend of Esparza’s mother. He returned to the 300 block of West Figueroa Drive and fired at least 13 rounds Into the home. Esparza and a 27-year-old man were struck by gunfire. Esparza was standing in the doorway of the home when he was hit. Both victims were taking to Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena. The man survived.

Anyone with information that can identify the shooter is urged to call the Los Angeles County sheriffs homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Information can be provided anonymously by calling LA Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), through the P3Tips mobile app, or lacrimestoppers.org.

ALTADENA - Two people were hospitalized after being wounded in a shooting near Christmas Tree Lane October 24.

The shooting occurred near East Mariposa Street and Santa Rosa Avenue. Sgt. Vincent Vanderhoeven of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Altadena Station was only able to confirm two victims were wounded and transported. He was unwilling to share a possible motive and suspect description.

The shooting was dispatched to Los Angeles County Firefighters at 5:45 a.m.

No other details are available.​

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has released a critical incident video outlining the continuing investigation into a fatal deputy shooting in Altadena.

The incident occurred around 4:04 p.m. January 10, 2021 at the intersection of Figueroa Drive and Lincoln Avenue. A deputy patrolling in a vehicle was told that a man armed with a knife stabbed a 78-year-old woman and was standing in the roadway. That suspect then approached the deputy’s patrol vehicle after it arrived and began striking the passenger side, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

The suspect then allegedly held the knife to his own throat.

Several deputies attempted to speak with the suspect, identified as 48-year-old Allen Mirzayan, to get him to drop his weapon and surrender. Mirzayan remained confrontational, acting erratic and approaching the deputies. He advanced on deputies one final time before being struck by gunfire multiple times.

Despite life-saving efforts, Mirzayan died at the scene, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

A quick glance at public coroner records shows that Mirzayan apparently suffered from post traumatic stress disorder.

Mirzayan is described as a U.S. Army veteran.

The woman who was stabbed also sustained a broken hip, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

ALTADENA - A woman was hospitalized after being stabbed, her possible assailant killed by a deputy at an Altadena intersection Sunday.

The incident occurred around 4:08 p.m. January 10 at the intersection of Figueroa Drive and Lincoln Avenue. A deputy patrolling in a vehicle was flagged down by a woman who was apparently the victim of a stabbing. An unknown male then approached the deputy and a shooting occurred, according to Deputy Arteaga of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau.

It is unclear to Arteaga why use of force was necessary against the man.

The woman was taken to a trauma center, according to Dispatch Supervisor of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene, Arteaga told SGV CityWatch. The woman’s condition was not readily available at the time of the story was posted.