Two Charged in 2021 Killing of Pasadena Boy, 13, Face Pretrial Hearing Thursday

A pretrial hearing for two people charged with murder in the 2021 shooting death of 13-year-old Pasadena resident Iran Moreno, who was killed by a bullet that came through his bedroom window while he played video games, is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Thursday at the Pasadena Courthouse.

The hearing is set in Department F at 300 E. Walnut St. It is another procedural step in a case that went unsolved for nearly four years and that has been calendared in that courthouse at least three times since last October.

Muhammad Abdul-Malik and Teraeja Laquanna Flemmings each face one count of murder. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office filed charges July 18, 2025.

Abdul-Malik is also charged with one felony count of possession of a firearm by a felon, and prosecutors allege an enhancement for personally and intentionally discharging a firearm causing great bodily injury or death.

Prosecutors allege Abdul-Malik fired a single gunshot from a vacant lot across the street from the Moreno home on the 900 block of North Raymond Avenue on Nov. 20, 2021, and that he then left in a vehicle driven by Flemmings. The Pasadena Police Department has said Moreno was not the intended target, and authorities have said no motive has been established.

Abdul-Malik pleaded not guilty after being extradited from Florida. Prosecutors requested bail of $3 million for Abdul-Malik and $2 million for Flemmings. If convicted as charged, Abdul-Malik faces 53 years to life and Flemmings 25 years to life, according to the district attorney’s office.

Both are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.