NBC4.TV, CA
Nov 25 2004

Suspect In 2000 Road Rage Death Enters Plea
Suspect Captured After International Manhunt

POSTED: 1:46 pm PST November 24, 2004

LOS ANGELES — An Armenian arrested in Yerevan recently and handed
over to U.S. authorities pleaded not guilty Wednesday to murder and
other charges related to an alleged road rage slaying in Universal
City on April 29, 2000.

Shahen Eghia Keshishian, 32, remains jailed in lieu of more than $1
million bond, pending a Dec. 8 appearance in Van Nuys Superior Court.
He is charged with one count of murder, vehicular manslaughter and
leaving the scene of an accident, said Deputy District Attorney
Dmitry Gorin.

The commercial truck driver was at the wheel of a new Chevrolet
Suburban when he and his passenger were seen throwing eggs at Michael
Craven’s Jeep, according to Los Angeles police.

“The victim and suspect pulled to the shoulder (and) Keshishian
suddenly accelerated and intentionally ran over the victim,” according
to an entry on the LAPD’s most wanted list.

The encounter occurred on the southbound Hollywood (101) Freeway,
south of Barham Boulevard, according to Glendale police. Craven,
a 44-year-old freelance film editor from Canoga Park, died while
being taken to the hospital.

Keshishian was charged June 23, 2000 with Craven’s slaying, and
charged separately by federal authorities in November 2000 with
unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.

Along with the LAPD’s most wanted list, Keshishian also had been named
as a fugitive on the FBI’s Web site. The entry now reads “Captured.”

Keshishian’s arrest by Armenian authorities in the capital of Yerevan
earlier this month and his subsequent return to Los Angeles was the
fruit of an FBI, LAPD and Glendale police effort. Assisted by other
U.S. law enforcement agencies, the LAPD determined last month that
Keshishian was hiding in Armenia, once part of the former Soviet
Union, where he was detained for overstaying his visa, according to
Glendale police.

Before his arrest, Glendale police officers who had gone to Armenia
to assist in the training of officers in that country worked out a
deal with Armenia’s National Security Service to help find Keshishian.