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 – 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

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.

PASADENA - Two unidentified suspects were arrested Thursday night after police opened fire on the men when the driver drove in the direction of the officers.

The driver and his passenger fled officers in an SUV during a traffic stop in the 1300 block of North Raymond Avenue May 2 just after 10 p.m., according to the Pasadena Police Department.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

PASADENA - A gang member wanted in connection with a shooting was jailed Friday after fleeing officers on foot at the end of a vehicle pursuit.

Kent Cedric Lowery, 23, is being held in lieu of $400,000 bail, booked on suspicion of felony evading police and for an outstanding felony warrant in connection with a shooting, according to the Pasadena Police Department.

An officer with the Pasadena Police Special Enforcement Section attempted to stop Lowery for a traffic violation jut before 9 p.m. December 28. Lowery refused to stop, Pasadena Police said.

Lowery and his passenger fled their vehicle after they stopped the high-speed pursuit near North Fair Oaks Avenue and Hammond Street, Pasadena Police said.

Lowery was chased on foot to a nearby apartment building and was arrested.

The passenger escaped custody.

Court date information for Lowery was not readily available.