Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

PASADENA - Pasadena City College police officers reportedly used force to subdue and detain a suspect accused of sexually assaulting a male on a bus October 9.

The suspect reportedly followed the victim after the assault onto the Pasadena City College campus, 1570 E. Colorado Blvd. although the victim was allegedly sexually assaulted, he declined medical attention, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Transit Services Bureau.

The suspect, who was not identified, was arrested on suspicion of sexual battery and transported to the Pasadena Police Department jail for booking.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

PASADENA - A man who is described as unstable allegedly kidnapped his 4-and-6-year-old nephews and fled with them to Upland Wednesday.

He took the children from the 500 block of Rosemead Boulevard in unincorporated Pasadena August 28. Deputies were able to track the suspect through a cellphone, according to Sgt. Kearney of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Temple Station.

The man has no custodial rights to the children. The mother of the children, the suspect’s sister, believed he intended to harm her children, according to the Upland Police Department.

Before the suspect was located in Upland, law enforcement surrounded and searched a residence near Fruit Street and Amherst Street in La Verne, according to Sgt. Figueroa of the La Verne Police Department.

In Upland, the suspect led officers on a pursuit with the children in tow. The chase was over quickly.

“At the conclusion of the pursuit, the suspect was taken into custody and spontaneously stated that he wanted to take the children to Heaven,” according to the Upland Police Department.

The children were unharmed, but were examined as a precaution, according to the Upland Police Department.

Booking records show a Vartan Khoren Gurunian, 34, was arrested at 9:11 p.m. He was booked on suspicion of kidnapping a victim under 14 years of age. He is being held in the Sheriff’s Temple Station jail in lieu of $150,000 bail.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

PASADENA - A suspect was booked on suspicion of attempted murder Wednesday after a woman was beaten and dragged from a train station onto the 210 freeway.

The shocking assault took place around 5:40 a.m. at the A Line Allen Station August 7. After being punched and knocked down, the woman was dragged away onto the railroad tracks and then the 210 freeway, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Transit Services Bureau.

​The woman was hospitalized in stable condition.

The suspect fled the area, but was arrested by deputies near Allen Avenue and Villa Street.

Los Angeles County booking records show Juan Pablo Flores, 33, was arrested August 7 by Transit Services Bureau deputies. He was booked on suspicion of attempted murder and is being held in lieu of $2 million bail at the Inmate Reception Center in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles County Board Supervisor Kathryn Barger issued a statement in the wake of the attack:

“I am outraged to hear of yet another attack on our Metro system. I want to commend the transit deputies who responded quickly and apprehended the suspect. This incident is a perfect example of why we need to urgently address safety issues, not only on the Metro train system, but also at stations.
I expect a full report from Metro on what security measures will be put in place to increase security, especially during early morning commute hours.

“Our Metro Board has already taken some steps to improve public safety, including enforcing fares. But, it’s obvious to me that our Metro system commuters are still confronted with serious safety issues that cannot be ignored.”

Flores is scheduled for an appearance in Pasadena Superior Court Friday, August 9.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

LOS ANGELES - Investigators named the 41-year-old man who died on a train platform in Pasadena July 24.

Isaac Hackett was identified by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner. He was a Monrovia resident.

While the medical examiner continues to defer the cause of death, a recent crime report published by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Transit Services Bureau suggests Hackett fell.

“Officers assigned to Pasadena PD conducted the preliminary investigation and stated the male fell from the apartment complex located above the station,” according to the Transit Services Bureau in a written statement.

>>READ THE ORIGINAL STORY

It is not publicly clear if Hackett fell accidentally, was pushed, or possibly jumped.

A Line train service temporarily bypassed the Memorial Station during the investigation, according to the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

PASADENA - An assault that occurred on the A Line train June 24 over a dropped cell phone certainly brings the adage “no good deed goes unpunished” to mind.

The incident occurred around 9:21 p.m. on an A Line train at the Memorial Park station. The victim, a 30-year-old man, told deputies a female suspect assaulted him with 15-inch deer antlers after he handed back a dropped cellphone to the sleeping passenger who owned it, according to Kari Mercer, public information officer with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Transit Services Bureau.

The man sustained several contusions, a 1-inch laceration to his head, a 1-inch laceration to his left hand and a puncture wound on his right forearm.

The suspect armed with deer antlers, a 38-year-old Asian woman, apparently was looking in earnest at the dropped cellphone. The victim worried she was going to steal it, Mercer told SGV CityWatch.

“Fearing the female was going to steal the phone, the victim picked up the phone, woke the sleeping passenger and gave it to him. The suspect became irate, pulled deer antlers from her bag, and struck the victim multiple times on his head and arms,” Mercer said in a written statement.

The homeless suspect was located, arrested and booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

PASADENA - Pasadena City College Police and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies searched and found no credible threats regarding the community college Monday.

An anonymous tip was sent Sunday through the campus’s website that there was a threat involving the library. The library remained closed Monday morning for several hours during the search, according to Alex Boekelheide, executive director of Office of Strategic Communications & Marketing at PCC.

Boekelheide declined to specify what the threat may have been and referred to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

The library was clear to re-open by 11 a.m. Monday, Boekelheide told SGV CityWatch.

Anyone can send in an anonymous tip to provide suspected crime information through the Lancer Anonymous Tip Reporting feature that can be accessed through the PCC website.

The campus notes that the anonymous tip feature is not intended for in progress crimes. For emergencies, or crimes in progress, call campus police at 626-585-7484.

PASADENA - A Montebello resident was identified as the driver of a van who led multiple agencies on a pursuit that ended with his death July 30.

Adam Youines, 35, was identified by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner.

Youines inched the vehicle he drove towards Pasadena officers after he stopped in a strip mall parking lot in the 600 block of North Lake Avenue. Officers were compelled to fire their weapons repeatedly at him. He died at the scene.

Towards the end of the pursuit, Youines could be seen in a video holding a gun to his own head. He reportedly made demands to speak to his mother.

Youines was described as an armed carjacking suspect who initially led Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies on a pursuit in South El Monte. The pursuit reportedly lasted only minutes before it was cancelled after a deputy crashed into another vehicle before 2 a.m.

Youines continued to evade authorities along surface streets and freeways in the Monrovia, Acadia and Pasadena areas.

The California Highway Patrol ended their portion of the pursuit when Youines kept to surface streets. Pasadena Police began pursuing the suspect at 2:25 a.m.

Monrovia Police trailed Pasadena officers who continued to pursue Youines until he stopped in the strip mall parking lot.

“Detectives from the Pasadena Police Department’s Robbery/Homicide Unit responded to the crime scene to commence an immediate follow-up investigation,” according to the Pasadena Police Department in a written statement.

The crash involving the deputy occurred at Rosemead Boulevard and Glendon Way in Rosemead. The deputy, who was en route to the chase on the 605 freeway, was briefly hospitalized. The other driver was reportedly uninjured.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

PASADENA - A man was found stabbed and suffered injuries that are at this time considered not life-threatening Thursday evening, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

The stabbing victim was located at the Memorial Park Station for the Metro L Line after deputies received multiple 9-1-1 calls around 6:40 p.m. Thursday, June 23. Investigators are still trying to determine exactly where the stabbing took place, according to Ramon Montenegro, public information officer for the Sheriff’s Transit Services Bureau.

The stabbing victim was taken to a hospital for treatment. Initially, investigators believe that the stabbing did not occur at the Memorial Park Station.

“It’s still a really, really active investigation, so we really don’t know a lot about it. We requested video both from the station and from the train the individual was on,” Montenegro told SGV CityWatch.

All Metro L Line trains are skipping the Memorial Park Station due to the investigation.

Anyone who may have been aboard the train or at the Memorial Park station and who has information that could aid the investigation is urged to call the Sheriff’s Transit Services Bureau at 323-563-5000, Or visit lasd.org/transitservicesbureau.

PASADENA – A suspect was arrested May 7, accused of spraying a man with a flammable liquid and lighting him on fire onboard an L Line train, causing extensive burn injuries, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.

The attack was reported around 10:55 p.m. According to witness statements, the unidentified suspect, a female, possibly exchanged words with the man prior to the attack, but it appeared the suspect and man did not know each other and the attack was unprovoked, according to Ramon Montenegro, public information officer with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Transit Services Bureau.

The attack occurred near the Metro L Line Lake Station, Montenegro told SGV CityWatch

After the man was set on fire, patrons aboard the railcar used what means they could to extinguish the flames. Patrons pointed out the suspect to deputies who took her into custody, Montenegro told SGV CityWatch.

The injuries to the man, while extensive, are considered not life-threatening, Montenegro told SGV CityWatch.

“So far, we’ve been able to ascertain there was no relationship between the two. There was no argument that occurred. For some reason she did this,” Montenegro told SGV CityWatch.

The Sheriff’s Arson/Explosives Detail is investigating. The suspect’s name has not been released.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

LOS ANGELES - The man accused of stabbing two family members to death, a portion of the crime that was witnessed on a live Zoom meeting, was officially charged Monday.

Robert Anderson Cotton, 32, faces two counts of murder with an allegation of using a knife as a deadly and dangerous weapon.

Cotton’s arraignment was continued to April 5. He is accused of killing mother Carol Brown, 67, and uncle Kenneth Preston, 69, at the house they all shared in the 3000 block of North Marengo Avenue March 22.

The bodies were discovered after police were called around 2:50 p.m. in the 3000 block of North Marengo Avenue.

Brown was a 15-year-member of Pasadena City College and was reportedly in the middle of a work meeting on Zoom when a suspect, later identified as Cotton, entered the room and kidnapped her. Coworkers called 9-1-1.

Cotton was not at the scene when deputies arrived, but returned in a vehicle either belonging to Brown or Preston, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide investigators.