Busy Week As 7 Major Pasadena Criminal and Civil Cases Are in Court

This week, seven high-profile Pasadena criminal and civil cases are scheduled to move forward area courtrooms. Here’s a description of each of these cases.

Tuesday, April 12, 8:30 a.m. Pretrial Hearing for Telly R. Johnson

Telly R. Johnson, 44, of Los Angeles, is charged with murder for the stabbing death of a man in Pasadena on March 1, 2019.

The victim was identified as 52-year-old Byron Nettles of Pasadena.

The stabbing took place at about 9 a.m. in the 100 block of South Euclid Avenue where the victim lived. Nettles was found later suffering from stab wounds and taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. That night, Johnson was spotted in the 1900 block of Cordova Street in Los Angeles, where he was arrested. Bail was set at $2 million.

The hearing will be in Department F of the Pasadena Courthouse.

Tuesday, April 12, 8:30 a.m. Status Conference on Lawsuit filed by Lorie Hope and Tanya Juhasz against Los Angeles County

Sisters Juhasz and Lorie Hope filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Los Angeles County, in connection with the death of their mother, 75-year-old Jeri Douglas, who was strangled to death in her home in Pasadena on Dec. 17, 2018.

In their lawsuit, the two women claim that the accused, Mary Jean O’Connor, was able to locate and murder their mother due to negligence on the part of employees with the county’s Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), who allegedly provided O’Connor with confidential information about their mother.

“Beyond Douglas’ premature, tragic and unnecessary death, DCFS’s apparent failure to protect its foster parents is a violation of the public trust and unreasonably puts some of Los Angeles’ most vulnerable children and most selfless citizens at risk,” the lawsuit states.

L.A. County’s DCFS is the largest child protective services agency in the nation, responsible for ensuring the safety of 2 million children, according to its website.

The hearing will be at Department X of the Alhambra Courthouse at 150 W. Commonwealth Ave. in Alhambra.

Wednesday, April 13, 8:30 a.m. Preliminary Hearing Date Setting for Oscar Munoz-Luna

Oscar Munoz-Luna, 26, of Pasadena, is charged with one felony count each of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, driving under the influence of an alcoholic beverage causing injury and DUI, along with an allegation that he had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.20 percent or more, according to the criminal complaint.

The charges are connected with an incident in which a pickup truck Munoz-Luna was allegedly driving struck a parked, unoccupied vehicle on the south side of Washington Place in Pasadena on Feb. 18.

A 55-year-old Pasadena man who was in Munoz-Luna’s vehicle was taken to a hospital, where he died hours later from his injuries. Munoz-Luna and a rear-seat passenger, a 40-year-old Altadena resident, suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were taken to a hospital.

Munoz-Luna was arrested later that night.

The hearing will be at Department D of the Pasadena Courthouse.

Wednesday, April 14, 8:30 a.m. Pretrial Hearing for Steve Carlos Williams

Steve Carlos Williams, 44, of Duarte, faces two counts of robbery, two counts of assault with a firearm, and being a felon in possession of a firearm, in connection with an alleged robbery and armed assault at Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles in Pasadena on February 3. Police said the altercation was sparked by a demand that he wear a face covering.

A Pasadena Police Department statement said Williams was accosted by a restaurant employee. Williams reportedly produced a handgun and threatened employees at the business, and demanded food. The statement said Williams took several other orders waiting to be picked up and drove off in a car.

Williams was arrested on September 17, 2020, in Irwindale by LA County Sheriff’s detectives who were investigating the murder of an Irwindale woman. He remains in custody.

Thursday’s hearing will be at Department E of the Pasadena Courthouse.

Friday, April 15, 8:30 a.m. Preliminary Hearing for Evan Roland Bynum and Dante Dejuan Ward

Evan Roland Bynum, 26, of Los Angeles, and Dante Dejuan Ward, 33, of Irvine, are charged in a shooting outside a Pasadena taco restaurant on March 13 that left a man dead and a woman wounded.

The shooting took place just before 9 p.m. in a parking lot outside a strip mall at the northeast corner of Foothill Boulevard and Altadena Drive, according to Pasadena police officers.

The victims were seated in a parked car when they were fired on.

Bernardo Cortez Velasco, 23, of Azusa, was taken to a hospital but died the following morning. A 19-year-old Duarte woman in the car was struck by flying glass but suffered no major injuries.

The hearing will be in Department E of the Pasadena Courthouse.

Friday, April 15, 8:30 a.m. Preliminary Hearing Date Setting for Cecilio Hernandez

Cecilio Hernandez, 24, of Pasadena, is charged along with a 16-year-old boy in a shooting in Pasadena that left one man dead and another critically wounded.

The incident happened on Oct. 25, 2021 in the 1000 block of Summit Ave. The victim, identified as Jamal Patterson, 24, died at a hospital three days after the crime from a gunshot wound to the head.

Hernandez faces one count of murder along with one count each of attempted murder and possession of a firearm by a felon. He is in custody, with bail set at $5.1 million.

The hearing will be at Department H of the Pasadena Courthouse.

Friday, April 15, 10 a.m. Motions Hearing in Lawsuit filed by the Parents and Three Children of the late Luis Sanchez against the City of Pasadena

Luis Sanchez, 29, of Pasadena, was killed on the night of Dec. 18, 2017, when he was struck by a motorist as he crossed Los Robles Avenue, according to the Pasadena Police Department.

His parents and three children filed suit against the City alleging that Pasadena was negligent for not having a crosswalk in the place where Sanchez was killed.

The hearing will be at Department 31 of the Spring Street Courthouse, at 312 N. Spring Street in Los Angeles.