Mountain Views News          Saturday, April 9, 2011

4

Mountain Views-News Saturday, April 9, 2011 

Police Nab Multiple Murder 
Suspects During Raid

Tree Sitters 
Pretrial Now 
Set for Earth 
Day


By Dean Lee

Gang detectives along with 
other local law enforcement 
said Thursday they took 
into custody eight suspects, 
two alleged responsible 
for multiple shootings, 
including the homicide of 
Donnell Taylor in Pasadena 
on January 19 and an 
attempted homicide in 
Altadena on March 15th. 
The arrested were made 
during early morning raids 
at several locations.

Police Chief Phillip Sanchez 
said members of the 
Pasadena Police Department 
and Los Angeles County 
Sheriff Department 
collaborated for the service 
of search warrants. He said 
the focus was on finding 
members of a local gang 
responsible for a number of 
shooting including Taylor. 

“Enhancing public safety 
and the apprehension of 
individuals responsible for 
these crime trends were of 
our utmost importance. 
We accomplished this with 
a very successful operation 
that resulted in the seizure 
of six firearms and eight 
arrests. Additional arrests 
are expected”, Sanchez said. 

Taylor was shot near the 
1700 block of Summit Ave. 
Officers had received a shots 
fired call shortly after 8 p.m. 
then found Taylor at the 
scene. He was taken to a local 
area hospital where he later 
died according to reports. 

Arrested during the raids 
Thursday were Steven 
Wright, 33, an Altadena 
resident wanted in 
connection with the murder 
of Taylor; Hildon Jones, 34, 
also an Altadena resident, 
wanted for attempted murder 
in the case; Jaszmine Jenkins, 
19, a Monrovia resident 
also wanted for attempted 
murder. Wanted on lesser 
charges were, Bengarmain 
Gay, 26, Altadena resident, 
warrant arrest; Jesse 
Johnson, 35, Altadena 
resident, non-compliance 
and warrant; Eric Hartfield, 
41, Altadena resident, 
miscellaneous felony; Robert 
Rucker, 41, Los Angeles 
resident, miscellaneous 
felony and Shamella Walton, 
30, Los Angeles for child 
endangerment. 

Persons with information 
regarding crimes that 
occurred in Pasadena are 
asked to contact Detective 
Grant Curry at (626) 744-
6489 or at (626) 744-4241. 
information regarding 
Altadena crimes are asked 
to call Altadena Sheriff’s at 
(626) 798-1131.

By Dean Lee

 One of the four tree 
sitters, John Quigley, who 
in January was arrested 
attempting to save the 
Arcadia Oak Woodlands 
from destruction by the 
County’s Department of 
Public Works, gave a brief 
update Wednesday on the 
legal situation saying that 
a pretrial had been set for 
April 22, Earth Day.

David Czamanske, vice 
chair of the Sierra Club’s 
Pasadena group, said the 
group had sent a letter to 
District Attorney Steve 
Cooley office asking that 
all charges, including 
resisting arrest, disturbing 
the peace and trespassing, 
be dropped. Quigley gave 
the update during the club’s 
regular monthly meeting.

Quigley said originally 
Cooley’s office wanted jail 
time for him as the ring 
leader. 

“Before or arraignment, we 
flooded… Steve Cooley’s 
office with phone calls 
and when we got into 
the arraignment they 
had softened their stance 
significantly,” he said. 
“They were clearly feeling 
the heat.”

Quigley said they had no 
plans for any plea agreement 
and would most likely take 
the case to trial. 

Quigley also said he wanted 
to hold a press event using 
the lessons learned and 
investigation, “to expose 
how the Department of 
Public Works is going about 
its business but leaving 
unnecessary destruction 
in all these natural places, 
open places, oak habitat…
etc.”

He also said that because 
the county was actively 
pursuing them he thought 
they could bring attention 
to some of the local Oak 
Woodlands areas. He 
singled out a plan to 
development Aliso Canyon 
in Granada Hills.

“On my Facebook page 
I had a message from an 
11-year-old girl named 
Whitney Jones,” he said. 
“Who pleaded for help 
saving a place near and dear 
to her hart, Aliso Canyon.”

Quigley also said Andrea 
Bowers, Julia Jaye Posin 
and Travis Jochimsen were 
arrested along with him.

Can I Hear You Say ‘Doo Dah’

 Daring to again go where 
no parade has gone before, 
this year’s Pasadena Doo Dah 
Parade will bring its own brand 
of raucous eccentricity East, 
after its successful relocation 
last year. This year’s parade 
will also again dare to go live 
on the internet streaming at 
doodahlive.com. 

This year’s spectacle will see the 
return of such wildly diverse 
entries as a fleet of motorized 
Kinetic Pastry Science 
Mobile Muffins, Songbird & 
His Ocarinas, a humungous 
robotic spitting cat named 
Boo-Boo Kitty, oddly-attired 
sound inventors known as 
The Highland Park Thursday 
Evening Gentlemen’s Society 
Circuit Bending Marching Band 
& Ladies’ Auxiliary, and the 
crowd favorite Disco Drill Team, 
real American Bandstanders. 
Yes, another Doo Dah is here to 
help you forget your humdrum 
existence organizers said.

All the parade participants will 
be joined this year by Grand 
Marshal Ron Stivers, of Poo 
Bah Records, and many first-
time entries including the 
League of Steam, Conehead 
Rocket Sled, Hippie Cream, 
The Iceland Queen, Rancho 
Talavera, combined bands of 
the 35th Dragoon Guards, Mile 
High Bed, Cheesus Chrust Pizza 
Company, Flying Baby High 
Dive, and the Ladies Auxiliary 
for Cultural Enrichment, and 
more.

The 10th Order of the Thorny 
Rose has also spoken. Organizers 
say this year’s recipient, 
Pasadenans for a Livable City, 
has certainly earned its thorny 
nod -having taken on the City 
of Pasadena and a powerful 
developer -and won! The 
Thorny Rose Award is presented 
annually at the Pasadena Doo 
Dah Parade to an individual or 
organization that has created 
discomfort or agitation in the 
community (even sometimes 
for a good cause). 

Councilmember Terry Tornek, 
an advisor to Pasadenans for 
a Livable City and former 
councilmember Sid Tyler both 
said they plan to decline the 
award. Organizers said if they 
do not show, in tradition, a giant 
chicken will ride in their place.

The 2011 Parade takes place on 
Saturday, April 30th, stepping 
off at 11am in East Pasadena 
along Colorado Boulevard.

Reward Grows to $25,000 
in Stadium Beating Case 


Earth Festival Returns to Old Pasadena

 The Pasadena Earth & Arts 
Festival returns to Old Pasadena 
on Saturday, April 16, from 
10 a.m. to 4 p.m., celebrating 
all things green, through 
hands-on activities, product 
demonstrations, resource 
sharing, live entertainment and 
eco-Jeopardy. 

This free, ninth annual event 
will take place in and around 
Memorial Park and the Armory 
Center for the Arts, 145 N. 
Raymond Ave. 

Businesses and nonprofit 
organizations will display 
information or sell items at the 
eco-marketplace that promote 
green living, energy and water 
efficiency, composting, organic 
foods, green building design, 
alternative transportation and 
renewable energy. 

The festival is also the place to 
learn more about Pasadena ’s 
resources and plans for waste 
reduction, recycling, water and 
energy conservation, and parks 
and nature preserves. 

Kids and parents can get creative 
together with clay, paper and 
other Earth-friendly media at 
arts and crafts tables provided 
by the Armory Center for the 
Arts. 

Nonstop live entertainment 
will include Sue B. Dancers, 
Delta Psi Sigma Beta Step 
Dance, Danza Yankuikuitl 
Aztec Dancers, Drumtime 
Drum Circle, Folklórico 
Nahuatzen, Folklórico Sol y 
Luna, Artichoke, George Sarah 
and String Trio, the reggae- and 
Latin-infused Roots Collective, 
R&B artist Quamaine Jones and 
bluesman Buddy Zapata. 

Special guests Machine 
Project, an experimental arts 
organization headquartered 
in Echo Park , will offer an 
Amplified Electric Melon 
workshop and drum circle. 

By popular demand, Arroyo 
Time Bank will once again host 
its Free Market Swap Meet for 
the public to donate or trade 
gently used items. 

A fun bike tour of Pasadena ’s 
sustainable sites, courtesy of 
C.I.C.L.E., will begin at 11:30 
a.m. 

Popular food trucks Frysmith 
and Komodo will provide 
affordable and sustainable 
sustenance throughout the day. 

People riding the Metro Gold 
Line to the Memorial Park 
Station will receive an Earth 
Day reusable bag by showing 
their Metro passes at the 
transportation booth, while 
supplies last. 

Festival co-sponsors are the city 
of Pasadena , Armory Center 
for the Arts, Conscientious 
Projector and Metro. The stage 
will be powered free of charge by 
Martifer Solar USA, a company 
that specializes in the design, 
engineering and installation of 
photovoltaic electric systems 
and components. 

The festival kick-off is on Friday, 
April 15, at 7:30 p.m. with a 
free outdoor film screening at 
the Levitt Pavilion in Memorial 
Park. “The Economics of 
Happiness” is a documentary 
that examines the impact of 
shifting from a global to a 
local economy that is more 
environmentally sustainable.

For more information visit www.
cityofpasadena.net/earthday or 
call (626) 744-4721.

 Joining L.A. County Mayor 
Michael Antonovich’s $10,000 
reward in exchange for any 
information leading to the 
arrest and conviction of the 
persons responsible for the 
attack on Bryan Stow, the San 
Francisco Giants will also be 
offering a matching $10,000 
reward and American Medical 
Response will be offering a 
$5,000 reward – bringing the 
total to $25,000.

The suspects are described as 
two male Hispanics between 
the ages of 18 and 25 wearing 
dodger clothing. Composite 
sketches of the two suspects 
have also been released by the 
L.A. Police Department.

Mayor Antonovich suggests 
anyone with information 
contact Detectives l. Burcher or 
P.J. Morris of the Los Angeles 
Police Department at 213-847-
4261.

Citizen Journalism Meet-up

 

 

 

 

The Pasadena Community 
Network and this newspaper 
are holding a workshop on 
Citizen Journalism. 

 This group is the place where 
aspiring journalists can learn 
from trained professionals 
and support their local 
community by covering 
what’s really happening in 
their neighborhoods.

 We will put the news in your 
hands. Learn how to find 
the story, the tools needed 
to capture the story and the 
means to tell the story using 
the power of video, audio and 
print along with online social 
media The next meeting is 
April 12 from 6 p.m. to 8p.m. 
at the Pasadena Community 
Network - Studio G, 2057 N. 
Los Robles Ave.

 For more info call 
626.794.8585 or visit 
pasadenan.com.

 
Learn not just how 
to blog but how to 
report the news

Pet of the 
Week

PCC Professor Invited To Join 
European Depression Study

Library Skills 
for Home-
schoolers


Petra R. Lott, Pasadena City 
College adjunct assistant 
professor in the Languages 
Division, has been invited 
to join a prestigious 
research project on speaking 
behavior and voice sound 
characteristics. This research 
is part of a larger project 
titled, “Early Prediction of 
Relapse in Depression.” PCC 
students will be given the 
opportunity to participate in 
several aspects of the study.

Dr. Lott will be the primary 
investigator for the portion of 
the study conducted at PCC. 
“I will work with two different 
kinds of questionnaires, 
one assessing our student 
population’s general health 
and one assessing how the 
students respond to and 
deal with stress/pressure in 
their academic and personal 
lives,” Dr. Lott explained. 
The interviewed students 
will serve as the control 
group for the study and the 
data will be compared to the 
data obtained from a patient 
group suffering from major 
depression.

In the second phase of the 
study, students will be asked 
to participate in a short 
recording session where their 
speech will be recorded while 
they read standardized text 
and while they count from 
one to 10. “Previous studies 
devoted to the correlation 
between mental illness 
and language parameters 
have demonstrated that 
psychiatric disorders 
adversely affect language 
production with regard to 
fluency, syntactic complexity, 
cohesion, as well as pitch and 
intonation contour,” Dr. Lott 
said. “Spectrograms, that 
is visualization of language 
signals, will give evidence of 
pitch and intonation patterns 
typical of healthy people 
or of people suffering from 
depression.”

The study is a cooperative 
effort between a number 
of European institutions, 
including the Swiss Federal 
Institute of Technology 
Zurich and the Psychiatric 
University Hospital Zurich. 
The project, which is 
sponsored by a European 
Union grant, is directed 
by Dr. Hans H. Stassen of 
the University of Zurich, 
with whom Dr. Lott has 
collaborated in the past.

For more information, please 
contact Young, at (626) 
585-3145, or visit Dr. Lott’s 
research website at http://
web.me.com/petralott/
website/Research.html.

 Hastings Branch Library 
will host a four-part 
program to introduce 
homeschoolers ages 6 to 
8 to basic library skills. 
From the parts of a book to 
using the library’s computer 
catalog a new topic will 
be covered every week in 
April. Hastings Branch is 
located at 3325 E. Orange 
Grove Blvd. 

 

Dodger, a big and handsome, 
one year old Mastiff mix is 
active and smart! He knows 
several basic commands and 
earned a Blue Ribbon in our 
Shelter School program! 
He was found with another 
dog but may prefer a home 
without other pets. He is 
looking for someone who 
will continue his training 
and make sure he gets lots 
of attention. Come visit with 
this fun dog today!

The regular dog adoption 
fee is $120, which includes 
medical care prior to 
adoption, spaying or 
neutering, vaccinations, 
and a follow-up visit with a 
participating vet.

Please call 626-792-7151 
and ask for A284119 or come 
to the Pasadena Humane 
Society & SPCA, 361 S. 
Raymond Ave , Pasadena 
CA , 91105 . Our adoption 
hours are 11-4 Sunday, 
9-5 Tuesday, Wednesday, 
Thursday, and Friday, and 
9-4 Saturday. Directions and 
photos of all pets updated 
hourly may be found at 
www.pasadenahumane.org

PCC Police and Safety 
Services to Host Weeklong 
Police Cadet Academy

Homeschoolers 
Science Project 
Display

The Pasadena City College 
Police and Safety Services 
will host and organize the 
third annual Police Cadet 
Academy beginning April 18. 
The weeklong program will 
take police cadets from the 
Southern California region 
through a simulated police 
academy. The cadets will 
be introduced to academic 
and physical disciplines that 
will prepare them to endure 
and complete an actual six-
month long police academy.

The program will include 
academic instruction in 
terrorism, criminal law, 
first-aid, report writing, 
field tactics, narcotics 
enforcement, and self-
defense. Cadets will also 
experience high-stress 
scenarios and simulations 
that require physical agility.

“This is a police academy-
prep program designed 
to simulate the training, 
tensions, physical demands, 
tactical awareness, and 
camaraderie realized in any 
California police academy,” 
said Brad Young, PCC 
Police and Safety Services 
lieutenant and the academy’s 
coordinator.

The academy will conclude 
on April 23 with a formal 
graduation ceremony. This 
year’s keynote speaker will 
be Pasadena Police Chief 
Phillip Sanchez. Graduating 
cadets will receive diplomas; 
decorations and awards will 
be bestowed upon those 
most distinguished.

For more information, call 
(626) 585-7627.

Hastings Branch Library will 
be displaying homeschoolers 
science projects during the 
month of May. If you have 
a really cool science project 
and want others to see and 
admire your work, call 
744.7262 to sign up. This is 
an opportunity to share your 
science accomplishments 
with the community. 
Hastings Branch is located at 
3325 E. Orange Grove Blvd. 

For more information 
on these programs and 
the library’s Homeschool 
Collection contact Petra 
Morris at (626) 744-7262 or 
pmorris@cityofpasadena.
net.

Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No.327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com