Two charged with murder in Christmas Day crash in Pasadena

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Two alleged gang members were charged with murder Friday for their roles in a police chase that ended in a fatal Christmas Day crash, prosecutors said.

Darrell Williams, 22, of Pasadena, and Brittany Washington, 21, of Los Angeles, were each charged with two counts of murder, three counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The complaint also includes gang allegations for both suspects, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said in a statement.

Prosecutors are asking that bail be set at $3.1 million for Williams and $2.1 million for Washington.

Williams is alleged to have been behind the wheel of a Dodge Durango with Washington in the passenger seat when he failed to pull over for a traffic violation about 8 p.m. Tuesday. He then led a Pasadena police officer and FBI agent on a brief high-speed chase before colliding with a van at Marengo Avenue and Maple Street.

The impact killed Tracey Ongtan, 25, of Glendale and Kendrick Ng, 11, of Daly City. Three other passengers were seriously injured in the collision.

During the pursuit, one of four people in the fleeing SUV discarded a loaded handgun that Pasadena police later recovered. While officers arrested two other passengers in the SUV, prosecutors declined to press charges against them.

If convicted, Williams and Washington face life in prison. They were expected to be arraigned Friday at L.A. County Superior Court in Pasadena.

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-- Adolfo Flores