Update: Arrested Boot Camp Instructor Case Delayed

Update November 16: Kelvin McFarland briefly appeared in court this morning. The Pasadena Sun says he waived his right to a speedy trial and will return to court on December 14, when a trial date will be set.

November 15: A boot camp instructor who was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping of a 14-year-old girl, child abuse, child endangerment, extortion and unlawful use of a badge, will return to court for a hearing on Wednesday, according to City News Service.

Monrovia resident Kelvin McFarland--who goes by the nickname "Sgt. Mac"--ran an organization called Family First Growth Camp. The organization focused on intense exercise as a punishment for misbehavior, and hosted their camp in the Arroyo and Hahamongna Watershed Park.

Sierra Madre resident Julie Unamuno witnessed harsh conditions at what appeared to be a youth boot camp in the Arroyo and Hahamongna Watershed in 2009 and 2010, according to the Pasadena Star-News. Unamuno and several other Pasadena women say they submitted a complaint to city officials, but their claims were ignored, according to the Star-News. Unamuno is a horseback riding instructor who frequently rides in the Arroyo and Hahamongna Watershed, and told the Star-News that she changed her usual trail route after seeing a drill sergeant yelling at a crying girl, children carrying tires around their necks and hearing foul language.

The Pasadena Star-News later that allegedly was Sgt. Mac's, though McFarland has denied any connection. The Pasadena Police Department has opened an investigation in that case but has not made any arrests and nobody has been charged.

At his two-day preliminary hearing in July, prosecutors suggested that McFarland had a pattern of being intimidating and using physical force with his students, while the defense painted the whole incident as a misunderstanding and suggested that McFarland had received money from the girl's family as a down payment towards enrolling her in his program.