Hearing Date to Be Set for Local Man Charged in Double Fatal Pasadena Hit-and-Run

A preliminary hearing date is scheduled to be set on Monday, October 7, for Jeffrey Butler, 30, charged in connection with a hit-and-run collision that left two people dead in Pasadena last year.

The hearing is set for 8:30 a.m. in Department H of the Pasadena Courthouse, located at 300 E. Walnut St.

Butler, of Altadena, was arrested on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023, a day after the fatal crash at the intersection of N. Raymond Avenue and Penn Street in Pasadena.

Police allege Butler was driving a Lincoln Navigator SUV that collided with a Nissan Versa at 9:17 p.m. on Oct. 18.

Two occupants of the Nissan were killed. Antonio Mendoza-Hernandez, 63, of Los Angeles, was pronounced dead at the scene. Veralice Yanira Membreno Orellana, 33, of Altadena, later died at a hospital.

According to the Pasadena Police Department, the driver of the Lincoln Navigator fled after the collision.

Butler was taken into custody outside his Altadena home the following day.

Butler faces charges including vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, hit-and-run resulting in death, and violation of parole. Police served a search warrant at Butler’s residence following his arrest.

Butler is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.