Ex-Councilman Testifies in His Own Defense

A city councilman charged with breaking into his former girlfriend’s house and threatening her and her new boyfriend told a Pasadena jury Thursday that he entered through a window but had a right to be in the house.

Edward Rodarte, 26, a school police officer, faces charges of burglary and making terrorist threats.

Yvette Turriaga and Josh Alvarez told jurors that they arrived home about 3 a.m. on Sept. 26 and went to bed. The pair said they heard a noise and Rodarte came out of the bedroom closet, told them he was a member of the Mexican Mafia and threatened to kill them.

Rodarte, they testified, then tried to choke Alvarez, hit Turriaga several times and tore a light bulb from its fixture before leaving.

On the stand Thursday, Rodarte said, “Yes, I went in through the window. I even broke two or three of the blinds.” But he made no effort to conceal himself until he saw his ex-girlfriend arriving with another man, he said, and then he went into the kitchen to hide. “I was shocked she was with someone else,” he said.

Rodarte contradicted Turriago’s testimony that their relationship was over, saying he had helped to pay the rent deposit and that the phone and cable service were in his name.

He and his attorney maintain that his entry was not burglary.

But Sheriff’s Det. Arturo Chavez testified that Rodarte admitted he had been in the closet and had struck Turriago in the face, pulled out the phone wire and smashed a light fixture.