Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

PASADENA – Stunning video was recently released in the investigation into a deadly police shooting of a carjacking suspect.

Adam Youines, a 35-year-old transient from the Montebello area was shot and killed by Pasadena Police as he inched the stolen minivan at officers.

Youines allegedly took a white 2002 Honda Odyssey minivan at gunpoint during a carjacking just before 11:30 p.m. at East Mountain Street and North El Molino Avenue. Two hours later, the minivan was caught on a red light camera speeding through North Garfield Avenue and Via Campo in Montebello, according to the Pasadena Police Department.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies found the vehicle a short time later and pursued the driver after he allegedly failed to stop. The reckless driver forced deputies to stop the pursuit at the 605 and I-10 freeways.

Monrovia officers attempted to stop the driver in their city after he was witnessed driving erratically and another pursuit began. The California Highway Patrol assisted with the chase once it entered the freeway.

Monrovia officers chased the suspect for 18 minutes in Pasadena, before Pasadena officers took over the chase. The suspect made attempts at stopping the minivan impossible with his high-speed reckless driving which took the pursuit into opposing lanes multiple times, according to the Pasadena Police Department.

The suspect slowly stopped at a strip mall in the 600 block of North Lake Avenue where officers negotiated with him for eight minutes. The suspect was seen on video supplied by the Pasadena Police Department pointing a handgun at his own head. He repeatedly wanted officers to kill him, even after dispatchers got his mother to speak with him.

Officers blocked all exits from the strip mall and ordered the suspect to surrender, but he inched the minivan at officers stationed at a parking lot exit and officers opened fire, killing Youines at the scene.

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 - Violence continues to plague Pasadena after a shootout occurred with a suspect accused of gunning down a man and attempting to carjack a woman, all before briefly taking a hostage Tuesday, police said.

The suspect, described as a man in his 20s, died in a shoot out with Pasadena officers as he attempted to flee. The man in his 70s that was shot by the suspect died after being hospitalized. The unbelievable scene began to unfold around 2:30 p.m. November 23.

Police responded to the area of Orange Grove Boulevard and Sunnyslope Avenue to a report of gunfire and found the man in his 70s. He had been struck several times by gunfire, according to the Pasadena Police Department.

Witnesses told officers that an armed suspect fled from the scene.

In his attempt to escape, the suspect carjacked a female driver, but continued to run as officers arrived, according to the Pasadena Police Department.

“Officers gave chase, made contact with the suspect, and an Officer Involved Shooting (OIS) occurred. At one point during the incident, the suspect took a second female hostage at gunpoint. The hostage was ultimately rescued, unharmed,” According to the Pasadena Police Department in a written statement.

Anyone with information that can aid this investigation is urged to call the Pasadena Police Department 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 lacrimetoppers.org.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

PASADENA - Protestors got into a vocal confrontation with Mayor Terry Tornek October 23 in what the mayor claims was an intimidation effort to promote another agenda.

Protestors presented demands in the wake of the police shooting death of Anthony McClain from August. Tornek claims protestors were largely there to demand charges be dropped against the protest leader.

Tornek took to the city’s website Saturday morning to express from his viewpoint the events that unfolded the previous night.

“I went out to talk with them at the sidewalk and to respond to their demands, but was immediately shouted down. References made to important police oversight reforms were dismissed, so I returned to my home,” Tornek said in a written statement.

"The focus was largely not on Mr. McClain, but rather about promoting the agenda of the event spokesperson and organizer, and compelling me to have a variety of criminal charges pending against her dropped.

Tornek likely referred to Jasmin Richards, the boisterous and sometimes embattled member of a local Black Lives Matter chapter. Her energy and frustration has put herself and BLM in the limelight over the last few years.

An often vocal speaker at city council meetings, Ricards was arrested Saturday, August 29, 2015, and later convicted of a felony charge of “lynching,” which California Penal Code describes as "taking by means of a riot of any person from the lawful custody of any peace officer.” 

Richards, who intervened and tried to take from police detention a person accused of trying to flee without paying for a meal at a Pasadena restaurant, was sentenced to 90 days in jail and probation.

Anthony McClain, 32, fled from Pasadena officers during a traffic stop August 15, 2020 near Raymond Avenue and Grandview Street. Police stated McClain removed a handgun from his waistband during a foot chase. The gun was either tossed by McClain, or dropped as he ran.

A Pasadena officer opened fire twice on McClain who collapsed at the scene. A loaded and apparently unregistered handgun was recovered, according to the Pasadena Police Department.

McClain, the passenger of the stopped vehicle, was taken to an area hospital where he later died. The driver cooperated with police and admitted to driving on a suspended license.

DNA evidence processed from several parts of the handgun recovered at the scene was a match to a DNA sample taken from McClain by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. McClain’s DNA was the only forensic evidence found on the gun, the Pasadena Police Department alleges.

McClain has a criminal record, having been convicted of robbery and at the time of the shooting was under supervision of Los Angeles County probation officers under Post-Release Community Supervision. He was also restricted from possessing firearms due to his felony conviction, Pasadena Police said.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

A pursuit wound its way through Pasadena surface streets. Eventually, the driver was reckless enough to warrant officers to back away to lessen the danger on the roadway, but the driver continued in an erratic fashion, forcing officers to reengage the suspect.

At the end of the pursuit at Allen Avenue and East Corson Street, the driver crashed head-on with a Pasadena police vehicle. The suspect opened fire at the police vehicle from inside the sedan. A bullet cracked the officer’s windshield.

The suspect exited his vehicle and fired at a second Pasadena officer who then shot back. Additional officers opened fire and took the suspect down. He died at the scene.

During the gunfire, a Pasadena police officer was struck on the leg by a bullet fired by one of his colleagues. The officer was not critically injured.

The suspect, 47-year-old San Diego man Lloyd Nelson, was identified as a former police officer in Los Angeles County, a former Pasadena resident and military veteran. Nelson’s motives that day remain unclear.