Thursday, September 11, 2025

Four Honored With Courage Awards From District Attorney’s Office at Pasadena Rotary Event

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Two men who came to the aid of a fellow passenger who had been set on fire aboard a train in Pasadena were among four people honored with Courage Awards by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

The awards were handed out at a ceremony hosted by the Rotary Club of Pasadena on Wednesday.

Jonathan Leyva, 37, of Pomona, and Kenneth Hwang, 35, of La Verne, were lauded for running toward the victim and using their jackets to extinguish the flames aboard the Metro Gold Line train as others ran from the flames on May 7, 2022, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

Christine Nicole Ciaccio, 41, pleaded no contest in June to one count of arson causing great bodily injury with use of an accelerant and was sentenced to 14 years in state prison, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

Also honored were:

• Alanna Russell, 22, of Pomona, who utilized her first-aid training to help a woman whose ex-boyfriend shot her outside a fast-food restaurant in Azusa on April 3, 2021, and called the victim’s loved ones to notify them about what had happened.
• David Ray Mesa, 50, was convicted of attempted murder and injuring a spouse or girlfriend and is serving a 29-year-to-life state prison sentence for the attack, which left the victim paralyzed, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
• Jorge Ramírez Galdamez, 44, of Victorville, who was shot after he and a colleague intervened in an early morning attack by a man against the man’s girlfriend in a Hollywood parking lot May 6, 2023.

Authorities said Galdamez tried pulling Vardges Petrosyan, now 30, off of the woman, who was already unconscious and bleeding, and that he suffered life-altering injuries after the defendant pulled out a gun and pointed it at Galdamez, who was shot after trying to pry the gun away from him. Galdamez’s colleague tried to disarm the defendant, who fled and was later arrested, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

Petrosyan was convicted July 14 of assault with a firearm, possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of ammunition by a felon and is facing up to 30 years in state prison, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

The awards are given several times a year to people who have performed extraordinary acts of valor and selflessness in assisting in criminal prosecutions, aiding victims, preventing crimes or capturing suspects, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

In a statement, District Attorney Nathan Hochman said, “I continue to be in awe of the bravery displayed by regular folks when they see a stranger in need of help during or after a violent crime. Not only are the victims in these cases grateful for these courageous individuals, but so is the entire community for showing we’re all here for each other.”