More than three years after a teenage boy was shot and killed in his Pasadena home, officials have charged two people in connection with his death.
Iran Moreno, 13, was playing video games in his bedroom on Nov. 20, 2021 when a stray bullet broke through his window and killed him. Police said at the time that they did not believe Moreno was the shooter’s intended target.
L.A. County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman announced Friday that Moreno’s alleged shooter Muhammad Abdul-Malik, 38, and his accused getaway driver Teraeja Laquanna Flemmings, 31, were charged with the murder of the Pasadena teen. Abdul-Malik faces an additional felony count of possession of a firearm by a felon.
Both Abdul-Malik and Flemmings could face life in state prison if convicted as charged.
“The violence that took this young boy’s life is not only tragic, but also unacceptable and criminal,” Hochman said Friday in a statement about the charges.
“No family should ever have to endure the heartbreak of losing a child under such horrific circumstances,” he said. “While we cannot undo this tragedy, we will work tirelessly to ensure those responsible are held accountable.”
The district attorney’s office could not be reached immediately for additional comment.
The Moreno case had its first break in June, when Pasadena police released to the public identifying information about the suspects obtained from recently enhanced surveillance video.
Pasadena Police Lt. Carlo Montiglio said the tools used to enhance the video “just became available.”
“As the technology has improved, it’s allowed us to proceed further with the case,” Montiglio said.
A week after the details from the surveillance video were released, Pasadena police also released to the public detailed sketches of the suspects which eventually led to their arrests, Montiglio said.
Abdul-Malik was arrested Jul. 11 in Orlando, Fla., where he awaits extradition, and Flemmings was arrested Jul. 16 in San Fernando. Her arraignment is scheduled for Monday.
While the true target of the shooting remains unknown, Montiglio said, “We don’t believe it to be gang-related in the sense of retaliation or trying to shoot at another person.”
Montiglio also said that although Abdul-Malik and Flemmings were presumed to be a couple at the time of the shooting, they are no longer believed to be together.
In the days after Moreno’s 2021 shooting death, Pasadena community members held a vigil in honor of victims of gun violence. Authorities also pledged to devote additional resources to combating what Pasadena Deputy Chief Cheryl Moody called a “rash of shootings.”
“The threat of gun violence is a true danger, and the Pasadena Police Department is working diligently to get guns off the streets and out of the hands of those who intend to harm others,” Moody said at the time.
Times staff writers Summer Lin, Nathan Solis and Brittny Mejia contributed to this report.
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