SUSPECTED TRIGGERMAN IN CUSTODY IN NORTH HOLLYWOOD GUNBATTLE
By Jason Kandel, Staff Writer
Los Angeles Daily News, CA
May 22 2007
NORTH HOLLYWOOD – A 17-year-old is in custody this morning, suspected
of shooting a Armenian man last month after a gunbattle in North
Hollywood
The teen, whose identity was withheld by police because he is a minor,
is the second suspect to be arrested in the death of Marat Manukyan,
killed April 26 after a fight among a group of Armenians that broke
out at a Starbucks coffee shop in North Hollywood. Arsen Vardanyan,
18, was arrested last week on suspicion of assault with a deadly
weapon in connection with the case.
Plainclothes officers arrested the juvenile suspect without incident
Monday night at Universal Citywalk, after a couple of attempts to
find him at his house were unsuccessful, said Los Angeles Police
Detective Richard Wheeler, the homicide supervisor at the North
Hollywood Division.
"He is believed to be the shooter," Wheeler said.
The juvenile was booked into Sylmar Juvenile Hall. Detectives expect
to present their case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s
Office today.
Last week, police questioned several other unidentified males, ages
17-22, about their possible roles in the shooting, which occurred in
the 13100 block of Raymer Street, said Los Angeles police Lt. Andy
Neiman, who supervises North Hollywood detectives. Members of the
Eurasian Organized Crime Task Force – composed of federal, state
and local investigators – were called to assist North Hollywood
detectives with translation and contacts in the Armenian community,
said LAPD Detective Martin Pinner, of the North Hollywood Division.
Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department’s elite Metro unit
fanned out in predawn raids May 17 to serve search warrants at six
locations in connection with the case, stretching from Van Nuys
to Glendale.
The warrants were served three weeks after Manukyan was killed. The
shooting stemmed from a fight Manukyan and several acquaintances
had earlier with another group in which a chair was thrown at
Starbucks on Coldwater Canyon Avenue and Victory Boulevard in North
Hollywood, police said. Vardanyan was arrested in connection with the
chair-throwing incident, Wheeler said. The group had been arguing after
someone from the group showed "disrespect" to the other group, Pinner
said. Although the case is not officially classified as gang-related,
at least one member from the group is reputed to be a member of
Armenian Power, Pinner said.
The group continued its dispute later along a dark and isolated spot
near railroad tracks. A gunbattle ensued and Manukyan was hit in
the back, police said. The suspects fled and Manukyan was taken to
a local hospital, where he died.
