Altadena Contracting Cases Return to Pasadena Court as Prosecutors Widen Fire-Zone Enforcement

Two of five men charged with working as unlicensed contractors in the Eaton Fire disaster zone are calendared in a Pasadena courtroom on Monday, July 27, where the court is scheduled to set a date for their preliminary hearing.

Edgar Geovanni Lopez Revolorio, of Arleta, and Guillermo Ramirez, of Pomona, each face one felony count of contracting without a license during a natural disaster, and both pleaded not guilty in December 2025.

A preliminary hearing is where a judge decides whether evidence supports sending a case to trial. Monday’s proceeding is scheduled only to fix its date.

Nearly eight months have passed since the district attorney’s Consumer Protection Division filed the charges on Dec. 4, 2025, after a joint operation by the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation and the state license board.

In a Dec. 11, 2025, news release, District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman described the filings as a crackdown on contractors preying on fire victims. Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents unincorporated Altadena, appeared with him.

The charge under Business and Professions Code Section 7028.16 carries up to three years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Prosecutors allege Ramirez has two prior felony convictions, including a strike prior, raising his maximum to six years. Both men were released on their own recognizance.

Three other men face charges from the same operation. Melvin Hairon Mejia Ordonez, of Los Angeles, pleaded not guilty in December. Andrew Escarzaga and Daniel Escarzaga, both of Chino, were also charged jointly,

The charges are allegations, and all defendants are presumed innocent.

The rebuild is moving faster than the docket. In a Los Angeles County economic update reported in June 2026, 26.7 percent of destroyed structures across the two fire areas had received rebuild permits and 0.47 percent had been approved for occupancy. The Altadena cases have yet to reach a preliminary hearing.