Overview
- Brandon Holguin, who pleaded not guilty Wednesday, remains jailed on about $650,000 bail and is due in Pasadena court on June 3 for a pretrial hearing.
- Prosecutors say he met the 14-year-old at a thrift store months earlier, took the boy’s phone so family could not track him, sold it, and used a fake ID to pawn family-gifted jewelry.
- Authorities allege he drove the teen to a motel and forced him to sort and photograph used clothing for online resale while giving him Adderall that made him sick.
- After a plan to move the teen to Northern California fell through, officials say he left the child on a Los Angeles freeway on May 5, 2025, and the boy reached a nearby location where staff called 911 and he was reunited with family.
- The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and sheriff’s investigators say the case is ongoing and they suspect other victims, urging tips to Detective Salvador Ponce or LA Regional Crime Stoppers.