Greater than three years after a teenage boy was shot and killed in his Pasadena residence, officers have charged two folks in connection together with his dying.
Iran Moreno, 13, was enjoying video video games in his bed room on Nov. 20, 2021 when a stray bullet broke by his window and killed him. Police mentioned on the time that they didn’t consider Moreno was the shooter’s meant goal.
L.A. County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman introduced Friday that Moreno’s alleged shooter Muhammad Abdul-Malik, 38, and his accused getaway driver Teraeja Laquanna Flemmings, 31, had been charged with the homicide of the Pasadena teen. Abdul-Malik faces an extra felony depend of possession of a firearm by a felon.
Each Abdul-Malik and Flemmings may face life in state jail if convicted as charged.
“The violence that took this younger boy’s life just isn’t solely tragic, but additionally unacceptable and legal,” Hochman mentioned Friday in a press release in regards to the costs.
“No household ought to ever must endure the heartbreak of dropping a toddler below such horrific circumstances,” he mentioned. “Whereas we can not undo this tragedy, we are going to work tirelessly to make sure these accountable are held accountable.”
The district lawyer’s workplace couldn’t be reached instantly for extra remark.
The Moreno case had its first break in June, when Pasadena police launched to the general public figuring out details about the suspects obtained from just lately enhanced surveillance video.
Pasadena Police Lt. Carlo Montiglio mentioned the instruments used to reinforce the video “simply turned obtainable.”
“Because the expertise has improved, it’s allowed us to proceed additional with the case,” Montiglio mentioned.
Per week after the main points from the surveillance video had been launched, Pasadena police additionally launched to the general public detailed sketches of the suspects which ultimately led to their arrests, Montiglio mentioned.
Abdul-Malik was arrested Jul. 11 in Orlando, Fla., the place he awaits extradition, and Flemmings was arrested Jul. 16 in San Fernando. Her arraignment is scheduled for Monday.
Whereas the true goal of the capturing stays unknown, Montiglio mentioned, “We don’t consider it to be gang-related within the sense of retaliation or attempting to shoot at one other individual.”
Montiglio additionally mentioned that though Abdul-Malik and Flemmings had been presumed to be a pair on the time of the capturing, they’re now not believed to be collectively.
Within the days after Moreno’s 2021 capturing dying, Pasadena neighborhood members held a vigil in honor of victims of gun violence. Authorities additionally pledged to commit extra assets to combating what Pasadena Deputy Chief Cheryl Moody known as a “rash of shootings.”
“The specter of gun violence is a real hazard, and the Pasadena Police Division is working diligently to get weapons off the streets and out of the fingers of those that intend to hurt others,” Moody mentioned on the time.
Instances employees writers Summer season Lin, Nathan Solis and Brittny Mejia contributed to this report.
