Two Men Deny Charges In Valentine's Day Shooting Of Pasadena Boy

PASADENA, CA — Two men pleaded not guilty Monday for in the Valentine’s Day shooting of a 10-year-old boy in Pasadena.

Joseph Knowles, 21, of Altadena, and Tanja Johnson, 22, of Pasadena, are charged with attempted murder and mayhem in connection to a Feb. 14 shooting that seriously injured a 10-year-old boy who was playing in front of his home when he was shot.

Knowles faces an additional felony count of possession of a firearm by a felon, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said. Johnson is also connected to an unrelated fatal shooting in March that killed a man and his dog in Monrovia.

Detectives arrested Knowles and Johnson in May after recovering several pieces of evidence that allegedly link them to the Pasadena shooting, police said. Police have declined to say what kind of evidence was recovered.

The two remain in custody and are scheduled to reappear in court Aug. 20.

The Feb. 14 shooting happened around 3 p.m. in the 300 block of Parke Street after the boy had stepped outside to play in front of his home, the Pasadena Police Department said.

Officers found the boy with multiple life-threatening gunshot wounds, and he was rushed to a nearby hospital where he underwent multiple surgeries, police said.

The boy's mother, Gabriela Joya, previously told the Pasadena Star-News that a bullet narrowly missed her son's heart. He survived the shooting but now requires extensive physical therapy, Joya said.