Trial begins in shooting of injured 10-year-old Pasadena boy – Pasadena Star News

Forty-five bullet casings were found near a Pasadena home where a 10-year-old boy was targeted and shot three times on Valentine's Day 2021, prosecutors told a jury Tuesday, Aug. 27, during opening arguments in an attempted murder trial against two defendants.

But attorneys for the defendants, Joseph Knowles of Altadena and Tanaj Johnson of Pasadena, said video evidence of the shooting did not conclusively prove the men were involved and that members of their gang often swapped the same clothing.

Knowles and Johnson are charged with three counts of attempted murder and one count of assault in connection with the shooting of the 10-year-old boy and two men on February 14, 2021. Knowles is additionally charged with possession of a firearm by a drug addict.

Prosecutor Christopher Stogel said Knowles and Johnson were driving a silver Honda Civic on Felberg Avenue in Duarte and fired shots, hitting a man outside a home in the area. When he heard the gunshots, another man opened the front door to check on the injured man and was also shot, Stogel said.

The Ring doorbell footage that Stogel presented in court showed the car driving away.

Later that same day, at about 2:57 p.m., Ring doorbell video showed the same Honda on 300th Street in Pasadena, Stogel said.

At that point, Stogel said, the 10-year-old boy left his house to check on his father, brother and a family friend who were working on a car in the driveway. Gunshots could then be heard in Ring footage shown in court.

The boy was hit in the left wrist, right ankle and upper chest, Stogel said. His mother previously told the Pasadena Star-News that the bullet narrowly missed the boy's heart. He underwent surgery the day of the shooting and returned from the hospital in late March to continue his recovery.

Police had previously stated that it was unclear who the intended target of the second shooting was. Investigators found 45 cartridge cases from various firearms at the crime scene, Stogel said.

The Honda seen in both shootings was captured on surveillance video multiple times after the shooting, Stogel said. Investigators also reportedly found Johnson's fingerprints on one of the shell casings and discovered a jacket and a pair of shoes that Knowles and Johnson were said to have been wearing during the shooting.

Anthony Arzili, an attorney representing Knowles, and Madeline Chang, an attorney representing Johnson, told the jury that their clients were not guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Knowles may have owned a windbreaker similar to the one seen in the surveillance footage, but Arzili said there was no DNA evidence to prove the jacket was his, stressing that his client and Johnson are part of a gang whose members frequently trade clothing.

While Johnson's fingerprints were allegedly found on a bullet casing, Chang said that only proves that her client touched the bullet at some point, not that he loaded or fired a firearm. She added that DNA from other people was also found on the bullet casings at the crime scene, and said that a firearm from the crime scene was allegedly found on another person.

Originally published: August 27, 2024 at 18:00