Damien Helgason (Photo – Helgasons)
Damien Helgason, new Altadenan, was on his thirty-minute morning walk to work at the local grocery store when he was robbed at gunpoint.
By J. Faith Malicdem
On Oct. 10, the Altadena Sheriff’s Station announced that there had been a robbery near the intersection of Marengo Avenue and Altadena Drive at 6:10 am. The suspect has been described as a 30-year-old male adult, last seen entering the passenger side of a grey Ford Mustang, driven by an unknown suspect.
“It was a traumatic event, but so much good has come out of it! I’ve never had a community embrace me this much,” said Helgason in a video chat interview.
On a regular basis, Helgason is dropped off at work by his father, who happened to be out of town on Saturday. “I didn’t feel like anything bad would happen,” he recounted when describing his intention to walk to work.
“I was walking east-bound and the grey Mustang was going west-bound. When they spotted me, they stopped on the other side of the street behind me. I didn’t really take notice of it as it was happening,” explained Helgason.
The suspect approached him, threatened to shoot Helgason if he didn’t hand over his wallet and phone, to which Helgason complied. However, the suspect proceeded to pistol whip Helgason’s forehead, knocking him to the ground. He suffered no serious injuries.
(Photo – Damien Helgason)
After finding out about the incident that day, Michell Ell Guajardo, Helgason’s boss, contacted Altadena Town Councilwoman Victoria Knapp, who in turn started a GoFundMe to help raise money for Helgason’s losses.
“When I learned he was new to Altadena, just three weeks, I wanted to show him what a supportive, kind, and compassionate community Altadena is,” explained Knapp. “In starting the GoFundMe, I really just hoped to replace his stolen cell phone and pay for a year’s worth of service, but Altadenans really came out and, so far, 174 people have contributed a total of $4,770.”
Having lost his job at Winn-Dixie in Mississippi, Helgason was starting over on the west coast when his father offered him a place to live in Altadena. “I’m looking forward to getting back to work and into a routine, away from the incident. Luckily, it’s going to heal on its own,” said Helgason, expressing his gratitude for the Guajardos, Knapp and the Altadena community. “Communities are good at coming together when bad things happen.”
> The GoFundMe is still active and can be found using this link.
The details of this article are very stretchy. No description of the men. The area where this occurred never has any crime and is literally 3 blocks from the Sheriffs station. I call BS on this story. Seems like some broke boy needs money. It’s hard to lose your job at a grocery store during a pandemic. Things about this story ain’t adding up. With no sidewalks it’s hard to not notice a car pull up behind you even if it is across the street. Those familiar with that area and have walked on Altadena Dr. know what I am saying.
There are more details in the Nextdoor app.