Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Not-guilty plea for Grigoryan

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Not-guilty plea for Grigoryan

    Glendale News Press, CA
    Jan 4 2008


    Not-guilty plea for Grigoryan


    Man is charged with second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter and
    felony hit-and-run.

    By Jason Wells

    PASADENA - Ara Grigoryan - the Glendale man accused in the July 10
    hit-and-run death of 24-year-old pedestrian Elizabeth Sandoval -
    pleaded not guilty Thursday to second-degree murder in Pasadena
    Superior Court.

    Grigoryan, handcuffed and wearing a blue county jail jumpsuit, also
    pleaded not guilty during his arraignment to one count each of
    vehicular manslaughter and felony hit-and-run involving a death.

    Before settling on the next pretrial date, Grigoryan's attorney, Fred
    Minassian, assured the judge that he was engaged in active
    discussions with the district attorney's office for a `possible
    resolution to this case.'

    Deputy District Atty. Robert Knowles confirmed that a plea agreement
    is always a possibility, but said there was no offer on the table.

    `There's been no actual discussion,' he said. advertisement


    Grigoryan's arraignment comes more than six months after he was
    arrested in Mexico City reportedly trying to board a flight to Spain
    a week and a half after Sandoval was killed.

    Grigoryan is accused of driving the black Mercedes-Benz S430 sedan
    that struck and killed Sandoval at 9:40 p.m. as she and a friend
    jaywalked across South Glendale Avenue just south of East Windsor
    Road.

    Witnesses for the prosecution at his preliminary hearing testified
    that the sedan sped away from the scene after flinging Sandoval more
    than 70 feet. She died at the scene.

    After a massive manhunt, police found the Mercedes abandoned in Van
    Nuys, with body work recently performed on its hood and grill. A few
    days later, Grigoryan was found.

    On Dec. 20, a Superior Court judge ruled that there was enough
    evidence to pursue a second-degree murder charge against Grigoryan
    for the hit-and-run death and sent the case to trial.

    So far, prosecutors are taking an almost identical path set for
    Andranik Atshemyan, who was convicted Dec. 14 on all three of the
    charges that Grigoryan is facing. Atshemyan faces 23 years to life in
    prison for slamming his Land Rover SUV into a parked Nissan car on
    Columbus Avenue near Riverdale Drive in November 2005, killing one
    teenager and seriously injuring another.

    Prosecutors in that case used his high speed and poor driving record
    to justify the murder charge, a tactic Grigoryan's defense must now
    contend with.

    Minassian said he intended to file a motion that would force Pasadena
    Superior Court Judge Dorothy Shubin, who is presiding over the case,
    to review the transcripts of Grigoryan's preliminary hearing to
    affirm that the prosecution's evidence warranted the murder charge.

    During Grigoryan's preliminary hearing, Minassian argued that skid
    marks at the scene of the collision proved his client had braked and
    swerved to avoid Sandoval, and so he should not be prosecuted for
    having a wanton disregard for human life - an argument Knowles had
    used to push for the murder charge.

    After Grigoryan entered his pleas Thursday, Shubin scheduled a
    pretrial hearing for Feb. 13, at which point attorneys will have 45
    days to prepare for the opening arguments.
Working...
X