Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

PASADENA - The suspect accused of murdering a man at a Pasadena Park November 18 was arrested and charged with murder and was charged with crimes stemming from other incidents in town.

Aaron Miguel Conell, 24, was officially charged with one count each of murder, attempted murder and assault with a semiautomatic firearm, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

Conell allegedly shot and wounded another victim October 29 at Washington Park, 700 E. Washington Blvd., the same park where 64-year-old Mickey Cooper was found shot dead last week.

Conell is also accused of walking up to a driver at a Pasadena gas station and aiming a handgun at the driver’s head, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

Mickey Cooper is the brother of former NBA basketball player Michael Cooper. Michael told ABC7 Eyewitness News that the brothers would often play basketball at the same park where Mickey was slain.

Mickey led a somewhat troubled, but otherwise quiet life in his adult years.

If convicted as charged, Conell will face 50 years to life in prison.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

PASADENA - Police announced the arrest of a man and woman accused of homicide in the October 30 fatal shooting of a Rialto man.

David Lamont Hunt-Cooks, 28, and Brittney Chenise Ruth, 32, are facing one count each of homicide after the Los Angeles County Attorney’s Office formally filed charges January 11. The duo were arrested January 9, according to the Pasadena Police Department.

The duo are accused of their involvement in the death of 22-year-old Martrell Eric Robinson who was shot dead just before 1:30 a.m. October 30, 2022. The shooting took place in the 100 block of Painter Street.

Robbery/homicide detectives from the Pasadena Police Department identified multiple suspects who are connected to a local criminal street gang. A search warrant was served in Pomona January 9 with the assistance of the US Marshall Service, Southwest Fugitive Apprehension Task Force, according to the Pasadena Police Department.

Hunt-Cooks is being held in lieu of $3 million bail. Ruth is being held in lieu of $2 million bail, according to the Pasadena Police Department.

Anyone with information on this case is urged to call the Pasadena police Department at 626-744-4241. 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

PASADENA - Police announced the arrest of a Victorville man whom they say shot an acquaintance in the neck July 29.

Robert Murray Jones lll, 20, was captured August 5 after officers in the Pasadena Police Criminal Investigations Division executed a search warrant at a Victorville home, according to the Pasadena Police Department.

Jones allegedly admitted to shooting the victim, said it was an accident.

Pasadena Police officers were dispatched to St. John Avenue and California Boulevard around 10:35 p.m. July 29 to a report of a man screaming that he had been shot, according to the Pasadena Police Department.

During a search of the area, police were notified by staff that a man with a gunshot wound to his neck was dropped off at Huntington Memorial Hospital, Pasadena Police said.

The victim was treated and is expected to recover.

After detectives with the Pasadena Police Violent Crimes Division identified the shooting scene in the 1900 block of Mentone Avenue, they also seized ballistic evidence, Pasadena Police said.

Felony charges against Jones were filed by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office: assault with a deadly weapon and discharge of a firearm with gross negligence. Jones is being held on $235,000 bail, Pasadena Police said.

Anyone with information about this case is urged to call Pasadena Police at 626-744-4241. 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.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

PASADENA - The suspect sought in an unprovoked assault that led to a woman’s death was found and arrested January 5.

Oscar Villamil, 43, was recognized by deputies with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Transit Services Bureau. He was seen and detained in the 700 block of South Raymond Avenue around 8:37 a.m. where Pasadena Police took him into custody, Pasadena Police said.

Villamil was officially charged with one count of murder and one count of elder abuse, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

Villamil was identified as the suspect in the assault that occurred December 28 in the area of Colorado Boulevard and Arroyo Parkway just before 8 a.m. A man and woman were beaten. The woman suffered fatal injuries and died days after hospitalization, according to the Pasadena Police Department.

Pui Gee Ng Lee, an 80-year-old Pasadena resident, was identified as the woman killed. Her husband was treated for minor injuries and released, according to the Pasadena Police Department.

“The investigation revealed that the elderly couple were walking on the sidewalk when the suspect, for unknown reason(s) and without provocation, punched and kicked the male victim and pushed the female victim, causing her to fall and hit her head on the concrete sidewalk,” Pasadena Police said in a written statement.

Villamil, 43, is described as a transient man who was known to frequent the Pasadena area and used the Metro bus and light rail system to keep mobile.

PASADENA - A stabbing suspect faces one charge of murder after he allegedly fatally stabbed another man in Pasadena.

Enrique Antonio Real, a 19-year-old Baldwin Park man, allegedly killed Altadena man Christopher Flores in a parking lot at CVS, 20 E. Orange Grove Blvd. September 11. Officers responded to calls of a stabbing in progress.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

PASADENA – An attempted murder suspect is facing seven years to life in state prison after admitting to slashing a woman’s throat during a rampage in 2017.

Lance Anthony Semkus, 75, pleaded no contest to one felony count of willful, deliberate and premeditated attempted murder. He also admitted to an allegation of using a knife and a deadly and dangerous weapon, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office Public Information Officer Ricardo Santiago.

The attack occurred October 23, 2017. After attempting to steal a woman’s dog outside a Pasadena pet store, Semkus approached another woman and slashed her throat. The woman fought back and survived, but suffered severe injuries, Santiago said.

Investigators learned that Semkus killed his two dogs.

Semkus is scheduled to be sentenced July 13 in Pasadena Superior Court.

Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor

PASADENA - A man accused of forcible rape and other sexual crimes is facing 270 years to life in state prison.

Anthony Joseph Miller, 51, faces five counts of forcible rape, two counts each of forcible oral copulation, sodomy by use of force and dissuading a witness from reporting a crime and one count each of sexual battery by restraint and false imprisonment by violence, according to Ricardo Santiago of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
 
Miller pleaded not guilty October 1 and is scheduled for another appearance in Pasadena Superior Court October 24.
 
The sex assaults began in 2011 with one woman allegedly being assaulted by Miller. Four more women were allegedly assaulted in August and September 2018, prosecutors said.
 
The assaults reportedly occurred in Pasadena, according to the Pasadena Police Department.
 
Miller was taken into custody September 27 with the help of the U.S. Marshals Southwest Pacific Region Fugitive Unit.
 
Miller is being held in lieu of $10 million bail.