Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

PASADENA - Two men were arrested, both accused of shooting a 10-year-old boy who was left with life-threatening injuries.

Altadena man Joseph Mekhi Knowles, 21, and 22-year-old Tanaj Johnson from Pasadena were identified after months of detective work, arrested and booked on suspicion of attempted murder in the February 14 shooting, according to the Pasadena Police Department.

The boy was shot several times around 3 p.m. in the 300 block of Parke Street. Gunmen exited a late-model, light-colored four-door sedan, opened fire and fled in the vehicle, Pasadena Police said in a written statement.

“There is nothing to indicate the 10-year-old was the intended victim of this senseless act of violence,” Pasadena Police said in a written statement.

The boy, identified as Mario Ramirez, was seriously wounded.

Johnson was already in custody, arrested April 19, for unrelated crimes when he was arrested May15. Knowles was jailed May 20.

Johnson is accused of being one of three suspects in the fatal shooting of a man in Pasadena March 29.

The U.S. Marshal Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force assisted Pasadena Police detectives in executing search warrants at undisclosed locations May 20. Evidence tying both Knowles and Johnson to the shooting was seized, Pasadena Police said.

Pasadena detectives presented the case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office May 24, which formally filed one charge each of attempted murder, Pasadena Police said.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

PASADENA - One person received minor injuries after two vehicles collided, sending one crashing into a Cheesecake Factory early Tuesday.

The collision occurred around 5:50 a.m. May 25 at E. Colorado Blvd. and N. Fair Oaks Ave., according to the Pasadena Fire Department.

Pasadena Urban Search and Rescue responded to evaluate the integrity of the building, The Pasadena Fire Department said.

Employees were inside the restaurant when the crash occurred, but no one was injured inside.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

PASADENA – A recent structural analysis unveiled a potentially-deadly scenario should the earth shake beneath our feet.

The City of Pasadena ordered the Pasadena Central Library, 285 E. Walnut Ave., closed May 3 after a structural assessment deemed the historic structure unsound due to its mostly unreinforced masonry bearing walls, according to the City of Pasadena.

The Pasadena Central Library’s safety issues were discovered during an assessment that was part of the city’s Central Library Building Systems and Structural Assessment Capital Improvement Project. The building does not meet seismic standards outlined under the American Society of Civil Engineers.

“URM buildings have been widely recognized as a hazard to life safety due to their potential to collapse during an earthquake. While Pasadena passed an ordinance in 1993 mandating all URM buildings to be retrofitted, vacated or demolished, no record has been found as to why Central Library was not identified and addressed as a URM building,” according to city officials in a written statement. “Now that it has been identified, it is clear that Central Library is not in conformance with the City’s URM Ordinance.”

In-person library services recently resumed after Covid-19 restrictions were implemented.

“This is devastating news for us all. Central Library is more than just a building; it’s where generations of families have grown up, and an iconic building that completes our Civic Center as one of Pasadena’s treasures,” said Pasadena City Manager Steve Mermell. “We intend to do everything in our power to assess the severity of the problem and to work toward its resolution. This library cannot remain vacant, and we need to conserve it for another century of use.”

City and library staff are working on interim solutions to ensure that services offered at the Central Library are continued at the city’s other libraries.

Designed by Myron Hunt in 1924, Central Library was the first building completed in Pasadena’s historic Civic Center Plan. The library is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Averaging 1,000 daily visitors, city officials said in a written statement.