PASADENA — Police have named a parolee and his girlfriend as ‘persons of interest’ in the shooting death of a 43-year-old Altadena man in late 2011 as they await trial on unrelated drug charges, officials said.
Chauncey Hollis, 40, whose last known address was in Monrovia, and Jewel Taitt, 46, of Pasadena were arrested Friday and booked on suspicion of murder, as well as possession of cocaine and marijuana for sales, Pasadena police Lt. Tracey Ibarra said.
But police ultimately did not ask prosecutors to file murder charges against the two, Ibarra said. “We’re seeking additional evidence for prosecution.”
They remained jailed in connection with the drug case, and in the case of Hollis, alleged parole violation, she said.
Hollis was already being sought as a parolee who had absconded from supervision when he was first identified as a person of interest in the early-morning shooting, police said.
When officers searched a home in the same neighborhood as the killing where Hollis was believed to frequent, they discovered the marijuana and cocaine, Ibarra said.
The drugs were found, “as we were conducting a search warrant in connection with murder,” the said.
Hollis was never found until Friday, Ibarra said, though investigators had been in contact with Taitt.
Detectives stopped Hollis and Taitt and arrested them without incident after they were spotted driving through the east end of Pasadena Friday.
Few details were available regarding the circumstances of the fatal 2011 shooting, to which no eyewitnesses have been located, police said.
Police responded to reports of gunshots when they discovered bullet casings in the street at Marengo Avenue and Tremont Street, then found the fatally wounded victim lying between a fence and a wall at Marengo Avenue and Dearborn Street, officials said.
Witnesses did report seeing a vehicle leaving the area just after the attack, police added.
Hollis was believed to have ties to a Pasadena-area street gang, Ibarra said.
It was not clear Thursday what, if any, relationship existed among Hollis, Taitt and Santana, she said.
Because of his status as a parolee, Hollis was being held without bail pending his arraignment in Pasadena Superior Court, while Taitt was being held in lieu of $35,000 bail.
