Four Violent Pasadena Criminal Cases Set for Hearings at Pasadena Courthouse Monday

The Pasadena Courthouse will be the scene of four separate hearings Monday morning related to local violent crimes ranging from murder to arson.

All the cases involve incidents that occurred in Pasadena between 2019 and early 2024, with three of the defendants facing murder charges.

Telly R. Johnson is charged with the 2019 stabbing death of Byron Young Nettles, a 52-year-old supportive-housing manager. Johnson allegedly killed Nettles on March 1, 2019, outside an apartment building on South Euclid Avenue. Investigators believe jealousy motivated the attack, as Johnson allegedly confronted Nettles over a perceived relationship between the victim and Johnson’s girlfriend.

Mark Anthony Levels, 54, will also appear for a pretrial hearing, facing murder charges in the shooting death of Tynisha Houston, 34, at a Pasadena apartment complex. The fatal confrontation occurred August 8, 2023, in a common area of the complex on North Fair Oaks Avenue following a tenant dispute that escalated into a physical altercation.

Aaron Miguel Conell, 24, faces a preliminary hearing on charges of murdering Mickey Cooper, the 64-year-old brother of former Los Angeles Lakers star Michael Cooper. Police found Mickey Cooper with multiple gunshot wounds on November 18, 2023, at Washington Park. Lt. Keith Gomez of the Pasadena Police Department characterized Conell’s actions as diabolically evil due to the lack of apparent motive.

The fourth case involves Michael Monzon, 32, of Alhambra, who faces charges including arson, burglary, attempted carjacking and carrying a dirk or dagger. Authorities allege Monzon set fire to Dream Church on East Colorado Boulevard on January 19, attempted a carjacking at a gas station two days later, and set another fire in a parking lot hours after the carjacking attempt.

All four hearings are scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Monday at the Pasadena Courthouse on East Walnut Street, with Johnson and Levels appearing in Department F, Monzon in Department B, and Conell in Department H.

Each defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.