City News Service
September 27, 2006 Wednesday 3:03 PM PST

Man Sentenced to 26-Year-to-Life Prison Term in Filmmaker’s Slaying

VAN NUYS

The first man to be handed over to U.S. authorities by Armenia to
face criminal charges was sentenced today to 26 years to life in
state prison for the road-rage murder of a documentary filmmaker.

Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Kathryne Stoltz rejected the defense’s
request for a new trial for Shahen Eghia Keshishian and refused to
reduce his first-degree murder conviction to second-degree murder.

Keshishian, 34, was also found guilty Aug. 25 of vehicular
manslaughter with gross negligence and leaving the scene of an
accident.

Jurors also found true the allegation that Keshishian used his GMC
Suburban as a dangerous and deadly weapon when he ran down Michael
Craven on April 29, 2000, as he stood on the shoulder of the
Hollywood (101) Freeway, south of Barham Boulevard.

The 44-year-old Canoga Park resident had been driving southbound when
someone in the SUV that Keshishian was driving began lobbing eggs at
his Jeep, authorities said.

Both motorists pulled over and Keshishian ran down Craven as he stood
on the shoulder, then sped away. The filmmaker died at a hospital.

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

He was placed on the Los Angeles Police Department’s most wanted list
and named as a fugitive on the FBI’s Web site.

In October 2004, with the help of various agencies in the United
States and in Yerevan, the LAPD’s homicide unit located Keshishian in
Armenia, where he had ties, according to Glendale police.

He was arrested a month later by the Armenian government for
overstaying his visa and subsequently extradited to the United
States.

Glendale police said then that it was the first time someone located
in Armenia was handed to U.S. authorities to be returned to face
criminal charges.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress