245: December 2007 Archives

We were asleep at the wheel and missed getting the news story about the shooting at Colorado and Fair Oaks in today's paper.

The Times got the news in their B-Section with quotes from Lt. Randall Taylor and Chief Barney Melekian.

Reporter Caroline An was at the scene moments after the shooting occurred and was able to get some color. She is working on a story.

11:42 A.M. UPDATE ADDED HERE.... I just read our initial story on the shooting and what strikes me is how Lt. Taylor apparently inplied that Pasadena officers chased down the shooting suspect and captured him moments after the incident.

In fact, cops were nowhere around when it went down and the shooter was chased down and captured by volunteers in Old Town there to guide tourists around.

UPDATE ENDS HERE

In my opinion, here's some of what we need to find out:

• How will this incident affect security in the lead up to the Rose Parade? Wasn't it just last week that Melekian said security was so tight that he wouldn't allow the Falun Gong chapter to have their own pre-parade event?
• How will it affect shopping? There are plenty of tourists in town for the Rose Bowl game. Are they now going to travel to safer shopping destinations?
• Is this a spill over from the increased violence plaguing Northwest Pasadena throughout the year?
• The police department said it has no plans for beefed up security in Old Town. Why not?

Old Town Pasadena, known as a premier shopping and restaurant destination was instead the scene of a shooting Wednesday night in which an Arcadia man was injured. Police are saying the shooting was the result of a drug deal gone bad. An 18-year-old is in custody and a 23-year-old is at large.

Here's Tania Chatila's map of key points in the incident:

Yesterday I speculated that Ruben Smith, the Azusa man who led police on a wild chase across the San Gabriel Valley, was a pool man.

Guess what? Ruben Smith is a pool man.

That stuff in the back of his truck is chemicals and tools used to clean pools.

Ruben Smith, 41, of Azusa leads CHP officers on a high speed pursuit east along the San Bernardino Freeway during rush hour.

The pursuit, which began in Azusa, went down the 605, out the 60 up the 5, back on the 10 flipping through the bus terminal in El Monte, back out on the 10, in search of the 710 extension at Valley boulevard, back on the 10 again and up the 605 over on the 210 and up into the Azusa Canyon.

Rueben flipped his Nissan Titan pickup and was taken by helicopter to LA County USC Medical center late Monday, officials said.

The picture here comes from staff photog Raul Roa.

View Larger Map
This is how we believe the pursuit went down. The information comes from listening on the scanner, wire service reports and watching KCAL, KNBC and KABC. Still very little information on the suspect or what started the pursuit. One wire service is reporting erroneously that the pursuit began in Vernon. We know it was San Dimas deputies who initiated the chase after reports of an assault with a deadly weapon. 

The pursuit began in the 5000 of Rockvale Avenue in Azusa near Vernon Avenue!!!

San Dimas Sheriff's deputies are involved in the pursuit of a possibly armed suspect on the southbound 605 Freeway. The pursuit began about 2:30 p.m. It's now been turned over the the California Highway Patrol, officials said.

KCAL 9 is now carrying the pursuit live....my question? is this a pool man, looks like chemicals in the back fo the truck...

btw this was headlined High Speed Pursuit but it hasn't been going fast .....so I changed it to Police pursuit.

There's at least eight of us gathered around the newsroom television watching this unfold...I will be sending a reporter out if it goes bad.. or gets weird

KCAL 9 says they're doing exclusive live coverage...

well not quite exclusive. We had it here first and we're still blogging it....

4:10 p.m. UPDATE This guy has been pretty much all over the San Gabriel Valley. I started a google map but got interrupted for a meeting. KABC says the suspect (who looks like  a pool man to me) is in Alhambra can see hiom in the bus lane now, where he pulled an interesting maneuver earlier)

4:40 p.m. It's all over in a flash when suspect goes up the Azusa Canyon and wrecks his Nissan Titan before being taken into custody.