Pasadena Police

Pasadena police have closed off streets near North Summit Avenue and Dearborn Street after reports of a person that was shot in the leg. The shooting occurred at around 4:45 p.m., said Pasadena Police Lt. Pete Hettema. The victim was treated on the scene and transported to a local hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening. The suspect is described as a Hispanic male. Police are asking residents to stay in their homes during the search. -- Tiffany Kelly , Times Community News Twitter: @LATiffanyKelly  

The father of an unarmed teen robbery suspect who was shot and killed last year by Pasadena police has filed a claim alleging he was roughed up by officers during a recent search of his home. Pasadena Police Lt. Tracey Ibarra said the department has launched an internal affairs investigation into the claim filed on behalf of Kenneth McDade by his attorney, Caree Harper, on April 30. McDade, who is seeking $10,000 in compensation, claims the incident was in retaliation for a federal civil rights lawsuit he filed over the death of his then 19-year-old...

A man who allegedly took a backpack from a Pasadena bedroom while the owner slept a few feet away was arrested early Thursday morning, according to Pasadena police. At 12:30 a.m. the resident of a board-and-care facility on the 200 block of El Molina Avenue was awakened by a man taking his backpack. The resident followed the suspect from a safe distance after he left the home and called police, Police set up a containment area and arrested Benjamin Singer, near the corner of Walnut Street and Catalina Avenue.

Police will mount an increased presence at Pasadena High School on Thursday and Friday in response to an anonymous threat of violence on the campus in the form of a note, schools and public safety officials said.  The note did not specify who might commit violence and the writer appeared to be reporting the threat as secondhand information - “someone saying 'I heard this,'” said Pasadena Unified spokesman Adam Wolfson said. A pre-recorded telephone and email message went out to parents Wednesday night stating that "an anonymous note informing [Pasadena High...

Police continue to look for a gunman who shot Pasadena resident Brian Jackson in the shoulder Friday. Jackson, 26, was taken to Huntington Memorial Hospital after police responded to reports of multiple shots fired on the 1800 block of Glen Avenue before noon on Friday. He is in stable condition. Police are seeking a suspect described as a black male, 18 to 20 years old, 5 foot 8 or 5 foot 9 inches tall and of medium build. The suspect's car may be a red Dodge Charger, according to Pasadena police.

The body of a man was found early Tuesday morning in Northwest Pasadena after authorities responded to reports of gunshots, police said. The body, discovered in the 100 block of Dearborn Street shortly after 5:40 a.m., was not immediately identified and police were investigating whether he was a victim of a shooting. He was described as a 20-year-old Latino. "He doesn't appear to be related to any of the neighbors," police Commander Chris Russ said.  Remy Ulloa, 64, who lives in the area, said he heard about six gunshots.

The Pasadena Police Department is staffing additional officers Sunday in areas frequented by motorcyclists in an effort to curb accidents. Police officers will be looking out for drivers and motorcyclists under the influence of drugs or alcohol or violating traffic laws. Pasadena saw no fatal accidents involving motorcyclists in 2011 or this year, but the department says fatal motorcycle accidents have increased 175% in California over the last 10 years. The California Motorcyclist Safety Program offers training.

Pasadena police are setting up a DUI checkpoint tonight at an undisclosed location between 7 p.m. and 3 a.m. Officers will be looking for drivers that show signs of drug or alcohol use. DUI expenses can reach $10,000, police said in a statement. Checkpoint locations are not revealed because officials do not want inebriated drivers to avoid the area, said Pasadena Police Lt. Phlunte Riddle. ALSO: Bicyclist busted with 23 pounds of marijuana in South Pas -- Tiffany Kelly , Times Community News Twitter: @LATiffanyKelly

A Glendale attorney is claiming that Pasadena police officers routinely accept, and solicit, bribes from defense attorneys, the Pasadena Star-News reported.  The claim comes by way of a July 23 court declaration by Jeffrey Voll, who said Officer Kevin Okamoto told him the previous December he and other officers had received trips to Las Vegas from members of the defense bar, the paper stated. During the same conversation, Okamoto, who is currently under investigation by the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department on misconduct allegations, suggested tickets to Hawaii might help one of Voll's...

Pasadena police successfully negotiated with a man who had threatened to commit suicide and said he would force police to use lethal force if they tried to stop him, according to Pasadena police. On Friday at 7:35 p.m. a 22-year-old male called police dispatch from a residence on the 400 block of East Claremont Street, saying he wanted to kill himself and would force officers to use lethal force against them if they intervened. Members of the police department's counter-negotiations team engaged the man for more than an hour, after which he agreed to surrender.

Pasadena police will be out in force over Cinco de Mayo weekend to crack down on drunk drivers. Police will operate a sobriety checkpoint at an undisclosed location from 7 p.m. Friday to 3 a.m. Saturday, in addition to deploying roving traffic patrols throughout the city from 8 p.m. Saturday to 3 a.m. Sunday, Pasadena police Lt. Pete Hettema said. More than a dozen officers will be deployed for the Saturday night patrols, Hettema said. Funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the effort comes after a series of...

Pasadena police are investigating an armed robbery that occurred Wednesday night at the corner of Oakland Avenue and Orange Grove Boulevard. Around 9:30 p.m., a man was approached by a black male who pulled out a handgun and demanded he turn over any valuables, said Lt. Jason Clawson with the Pasadena Police Department. The victim gave the alleged robber his wallet and some jewelry, Clawaon said. The black male then fled in an awaiting white sedan, he added. Police reports do not indicate whether the black male entered the driver's side or the passenger's side of the vehicle.

As part of a statewide distracted driving awareness campaign, Pasadena police on Friday will be actively ticketing drivers who are caught texting or talking on hand-held cell phones. No warnings - only citations - will be issued to those breaking cell phone laws on April 5, according to a police department announcement. The department is one of more than 225 law enforcement agencies conducting zero-tolerance cell phone law enforcement details this month, including in neighboring Glendale . The program is funded by a California Office of Traffic Safety grant.

There have been 113 convicted felons released to local supervision in Pasadena under state realignment programs, and police Chief Phillip Sanchez says more funding is needed to keep them from committing new crimes. Sanchez told Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich on Wednesday that the city needs some $900,000 over the next three years to expand crime prevention efforts of the Pasadena/Altadena Reintegration Council, a joint program by public and nonprofit agencies. “I don't believe traditional [law enforcement]

The man who falsely told emergency dispatchers that he was threatened with a gun before Pasadena police shot unarmed teen robbery suspect Kendrec McDade may consider a plea deal to avoid a trial on charges he lied to authorities, his attorney said. Oscar Carrillo, 27, faces up to 18 months in jail for misdemeanor charges of making a false report of a criminal offense and reporting an emergency knowing the report was false. He pleaded not guilty to the charges in February. During a brief pretrial hearing in Pasadena on Tuesday, Los Angeles County Superior...

Organizers of a Pasadena religious tradition launched days after the American invasion of Iraq are now turning their attention to ending violence at home. The 10th annual Palm Sunday Peace parade on Sunday is a call for churches and community groups to play more active roles in bringing tranquillity to local streets, said founder and Pasadena Mennonite Church minister Bert Newton. The 1.2-mile march at 3:30 p.m. from Messiah Lutheran Church in Northwest Pasadena to the downtown Paseo Colorado mall is also the rallying point for efforts to fund a municipal gun buyback...

Pasadena authorities are looking for a schizophrenic homeless woman who was last seen at Las Encinas Hospital on Sunday. Loretta Cleese, 49, is white woman described as 6 feet tall and weighing 200 pounds. Cleese was a patient at Cedars Sinai Hospital and was transferred to Pasadena. On Sunday doctors determined she could be released. She was supposed to take a Greyhound bus to her daughter's house in Oakley, according to Pasadena police, but her daughter never heard from her. Cleese doesn't have any money, identification card or a cell phone, according to police, and is...

Pasadena police have arrested a man on suspicion of making a bomb threat that caused the evacuation of Pasadena Health Department offices on Thursday. An anonymous caller told police at 9:30 a.m. that he had placed explosives in the building at 1845 N. Fair Oaks Ave., prompting the evacuation. While officers were on scene, the department received a second anonymous call at 10:50 a.m. by a man who claimed to have a gun and said officers should not approach the building, said Lt. Phlunte Riddle.

The two Pasadena police officers who shot unarmed Azusa teenager Kendrec McDade during a robbery investigation one year ago acted “within departmental policy,” an internal review of the incident has determined. Findings of the Pasadena police administrative review board were announced in a brief statement Wednesday. Pasadena police officers Jeffrey Newlen and Matthew Griffin shot McDade, 19, during a March 24, 2012, police pursuit that ended near the intersection of Orange Grove Boulevard and Sunset Avenue.

A fugitive apprehension task force has arrested a man suspected of shooting at Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies during a robbery investigation last Thursday in Pasadena. The resulting manhunt shut down several city blocks above the Foothill (210) Freeway between Hill and Mentor avenues for more than 10 hours. Michael Garrett, 24, was arrested Monday night in San Bernardino by authorities working with the U.S. Marshals Service-led Fugitive Task Force, Pasadena police Lt. Tracey Ibarra said.