PASADENA — Prosecutors Wednesday filed murder and other charges against a second alleged shooter in the Christmas Day slaying of longtime Pasadena resident, community volunteer and sheriff’s employee Victor McClinton, authorities said.
Jerron Donald Harris, 25, appeared for an arraigment Wednesday afternoon in Pasadena Superior Court, though it was rescheduled for Jan. 23 in Los Angeles Superior Court, Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Jane Robison said. Another alleged shooter and an alleged accessory after the fact in the slaying have been in custody since late December and are also scheduled for arraignment Jan. 23.
Harris was arrested Saturday at a Gardena motel by members of the Pasadena Police Department, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and U.S. Marshal, Pasadena Police Chief Phillip Sanchez said.
“The Pasadena Police Department is committed to pursuing predators who commit senseless acts of violence like this,” Sanchez said.
The arrest took place about 2:45 a.m., booking records show.
Investigators has been seeking Harris for more than a week, officials added.
Prosecutors filed the same charges against Harris that were filed against co-defendant Larry Bishop, 20, of Chino, last week in connection with the fatal shooting of 49-year-old McClinton, who police said was fatally shot when he was caught in the path of gang-related gunfire in the 1900 block of Newport Avenue.
They include murder with the special circumstances of shooting from a vehicle and committing the murder for the benefit of a street gang, attempted murder, two counts of shooting at an inhabited dwelling and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, Robison said.
“Victim McClinton was an innocent bystander struck by a bullet fired in a series of rounds toward Damion Taylor,” police said in a written statement. Police described Taylor as a Pasadena resident and gang associate.
McClinton was an 18-year Los Angeles County sheriff’s law enforcement technician who founded the Pasadena’s nonprofit Brotherhood Community Youth Sports League.
Taylor was wounded in the shooting, police said.
During the fatal Dec. 25 shooting, “Both (Bishop and Harris) allegedly fired,” Robison said.
In addition to the alleged shooters, Bishop and Harris, a third man also faces charges after being arrested on suspicion of being an accessory after the fact in the killing, though his alleged specific role in the slaying has not been released.
Police arrested Gary Aurthur Davis, 20, of Pasadena Dec. 29, according to police and booking records. Bishop was jailed Dec. 28.
Both Bishop and Darnell were scheduled to appear for an arraignment Jan. 23 in Los Angeles Superior Court.
Though a resident of Pasadena, Harris is also known to frequent Pomona, the chief said.
The fact that officers found and arrested Harris in Covina shows they were concerned about his potential to flee justice, Sanchez said.
While investigating the shooting, detectives determined two additional people had been inside the SUV Taylor was riding in when shot, but they had fled the scene before police arrived, according to the police statement.
Investigators Tuesday found one of those SUV occupants, a 16-year-old Altadena boy and gang member who is on probation, carrying a loaded handgun, police said. He was arrested on suspicion of being a minor in possession of a handgun and sent to the Eastlake Juvenile Facility in Los Angeles.
According to booking records, Harris and Davis were being held in lieu of $1 million bail, while Bishop, a three-time convicted felon, was being held without bail.