Police in Pasadena arrested four suspects and seized five loaded firearms Monday amid beefed-up patrols in the wake of three shootings — all believed to be gang-related — that left two men dead and three other people wounded.
A total of 10 people suspected to have ties to local street gangs have been arrested since the shootings Friday and Saturday, according to Pasadena police.
The coroner’s office identified those killed as 24-year-old Pasadena residents Ormani Duncan and Antoinee Sutphen Jr.
At 11:53 p.m. Friday, officers responded to a shooting in the 70 block of Pepper Street, where they found Sutphen fatally wounded in a walkway, according to Pasadena police Lt. Vasken Gourdikian.
Within minutes, paramedics reported they were treating a second gunshot victim — a 38-year-old woman who was taken to a hospital in critical condition, Gourdikian said.
In that same time period, a single-car crash occurred at the intersection of California Boulevard and Saint John Avenue, where responding officers discovered two additional gunshot victims, Gourdikian said.
Duncan died at the scene, while a second male in the vehicle sustained a gunshot wound that was not life-threatening. Investigators believe Duncan and Sutphen were shot near the Pepper Street scene, where evidence of a shootout was found, Gourdikian said.
A shooting about two hours later in Duarte that left at least one victim with non-life-threatening injuries was possibly related to the one in Pasadena, the lieutenant said.
Pasadena police increased officer patrols following the shootings. But despite the increased law enforcement presence, a victim suffered non-life- threatening injuries in a shooting about 4:45 p.m. Saturday in the area of Claremont Street and Fair Oaks Avenue, not far from the original shooting scene, Gourdikian said.
“Pasadena police detectives believe the shootings are gang-related and have a nexus to the communities of Duarte and Altadena,” he said, adding that there appears to have been a violent “back-and-forth” between gang rivals.
The latest arrests were made about 2:10 a.m. when patrol officers pulled over a vehicle with four men inside and seized four handguns and a rifle — all loaded, Gourdikian said.
He identified the arrestees as Pasadena residents Randy Broadnax, 29, Derek Brown, 31, and Dwayne Ellis, 33, and Los Angeles resident Marvin Evans, 30.
About 7:10 p.m. Sunday, Pasadena police gang enforcement officers pulled over a vehicle with three men inside and found handgun and a rifle, both loaded, Gourdikian said.
All three suspects were arrested. They were identified as 26-year-old Richard Toney of Duarte and Marcus Momon, 32, and Kaquann Offutt, 27, both of Pasadena, the lieutenant said.
Three Pasadena men — all believed to be gang members — were arrested about the time of the Saturday afternoon shooting after officers pulled over a vehicle with two suspects inside, Gourdikian said.
One of the men fled on foot but ultimately both were arrested, as was a third “in relation to this investigation,” according to the lieutenant, who said the two in the vehicle “were in possession of loaded firearms at the time of their arrests.”
Those suspects were identified as Doncell Hannah, 23, Michael Robertson, 31, and Richard Isham, 31.
“These arrests and seizures serve as a vivid reminder that high- capacity weapons are in the hands of criminals,” Pasadena police Chief Phillip Sanchez said. “I am hopeful that through robust police enforcement strategies, along with information sharing among law enforcement organizations, we will arrest those persons responsible for the recent murders and bring them to justice.”
Anyone with information on the shootings was asked to call the Pasadena Police Department at (626) 744-4241. Anonymous tips can be submitted through Crime Stoppers by calling (800) 222-TIPS.
–City News Service