Post by Scumhunter on Dec 27, 2021 1:55:13 GMT -5
(Above photo credit: projectcoldcase.org)
From Project: Cold Case:
June 8, 2020 | By Cassidy Klein
This story is part of a collaborative project between Project: Cold Case and a University of North Florida Journalism class. The student credited above wrote this story as a class project.
Call it mother’s intuition.
In December 2015, Sarah Mendoza had a feeling that something was off. Robert Calderon, her son, was driving his mother to a local Christmas party.
“I kind of felt in my heart that there was something going on,” Sarah recalled. “I could almost feel that something was going to happen to him. Just by the conversation we had – just by his tone.”
Her intuition was right.
That night, there was a series of 911 calls regarding gunshots. A trail of blood led right to the body of Robert. He was lying on the grass strip separating the sidewalk and the roadway in a Pasadena, California, neighborhood.
Robert Calderon had been shot to death. He was just 27 years old.
Robert loved sports, all of them. Growing up on the west coast, it was odd for him to claim the New England Patriots, Boston Celtics, and Boston Red Sox as his favorite teams. He didn’t want to be like all the other people around him, so he chose teams outside the Los Angeles area to root for. He knew everything about the teams and players and “knew all the stats,” his mother said.
Robert grew up in a religious household. He started attending a Catholic school in kindergarten and was even an altar boy for a few years. Robert “knew God and didn’t fear death,” his aunt, Raquel Delgado, said. “He knew he would be called home someday.”
With dreams of becoming an electrician, Robert enrolled at Pasadena City College. He didn’t get to see his hard work pay off. The college posthumously awarded the family his diploma on the day of his funeral.
On the night of December 18, 2015, Robert dropped his mother Sarah off at a Christmas party. He planned to pick her up at 10:35.
The drive would normally take just a few minutes, but it took 40 minutes that day thanks to traffic. Robert told his mother how thankful he was for her.
It was the longest ride, but Sarah said it was incredibly “engaging and heartfelt.”
After dropping his mother off, Robert made his way to a friend’s house to meet up with his girlfriend. The couple was planning to go to the theater to watch the latest Star Wars movie. As they walked to the car, two friends stopped them and recommended that they make a quick trip to the store.
Robert insisted that he go with his friends despite his girlfriend being skeptical.
That decision would ultimately cost Robert his life.
According to articles from the night of the incident, law enforcement discovered seven shell casings at the scene. Detectives aren’t sure if Robert was crossing the street or he was getting out of a car.
Other scenarios have been presented, but witnesses from the area have never come forward with information.
Pasadena investigators continue to encourage the community to step forward with any and all information that could help solve the case.
Friends and family gathered at the St. Andrews Church for Robert’s funeral. The funeral brought ”people of different cultures and races together,” according to Sarah. She estimated over 1,200 people attended the funeral to celebrate her son’s life.
Robert’s family continues to remain hopeful that someone will come forward with information to help convict the person who shot Robert and left him on the curb to die.
As of October 22, 2019, The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has reinstated a $20,000 reward for any information that leads to the arrest and conviction of Robert’s murderer.
If you have any information on the unsolved murder of Robert Calderon, please call the Pasadena Police Department at (626) 744-4501. You may remain anonymous and be eligible for a cash reward by call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.
projectcoldcase.org/2020/06/08/robert-calderon/
Thoughts? Also wanted to let Robert's friends and family know I found out about their case from reading through the postings in the In Pursuit: Missing and Wanted Facebook group. While we're only an unofficial fan page for the show, I wanted to do what little I could in generating some extra publicity to get the case solved by posting it here.
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