SOUTH PASADENA – A suspicious vehicle led to two arrests December 4 after officers found drugs and evidence of catalytic converter thefts.

Officers conducting a burglary suppression operation saw a suspicious vehicle in the 800 block of Meridian Avenue just after 6 a.m. Two occupants were contacted by officers and as one of the men exited the vehicle, an item of “evidentiary value” fell to the ground, according to the South Pasadena Police Department.

What that item was, police have not described.

After further investigation, officers located narcotics and tools commonly used in catalytic converter thefts, according to the South Pasadena Police Department.

Los Angeles men Marcelo Ramirez, 30, and Victor Trujillo-Cruz, 28, were booked on suspicion of possession of burglary tools and possession of narcotics.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

SOUTH PASADENA – A 29-year-old L Line passenger was saved June 15 after he ingested a likely fatal dose of Fentanyl on the train, police said.

Officers responded to the South Pasadena Station, 905 Meridian Ave., at 11:52 a.m. Tuesday. The victim suffered a cardiac event from the Fentanyl. A Good Samaritan was found attempting CPR on the victim, according to the South Pasadena Police Department.

Officers equipped with Nalaxone, known by brand name Narcan, administered the nasal dose and within seconds, the victim began to breathe on his own, according to the South Pasadena Police Department.

By the time the victim arrived to Huntington Memorial Hospital for further treatment, the victim was responsive and talking with paramedics.

Fentanyl, a Schedule II synthetic opioid, is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Overdose death rates from synthetic opioids, including fentanyl and fentanyl analogs, other than methadone have increased by 16 percent from 2018 to 2019. Deaths from synthetic opioids were nearly 12 times higher in 2019 than in 2013, according to the CDC.

SOUTH PASADENA - An officer discovered $116,000 and nearly three pounds of marijuana in the trunk of a vehicle during a July 9 traffic stop.

Upon approaching the vehicle, which was stopped around 1 a.m. in the 1100 block of Huntington Drive, the officer smelled burning marijuana from within. When asked about the smell, the driver admitted to smoking, South Pasadena Police said.

SOUTH PASADENA - Police saved a man Saturday afternoon who allegedly overdosed on Oxycodone.

Officers used Naloxone on the 21-year-old man who was found down and unresponsive in the 1100 block of Indiana Avenue before 1 p.m. May 25. Officers found the man not breathing and with no apparent pulse, according to the South Pasadena Police Department.

After administering the opioid-inhibiting nasal spray, officers began CPR until South Pasadena firefighters could continue care.