GLENDALE MAN PLEADS NOT GUILTY IN FATAL HIT-AND-RUN

MSNBC
KNBC-TV~WLos Angeles, CA
July 20 2007

GLENDALE, Calif. – A Glendale man accused in a hit-and-run accident
that killed a 24-year-old woman pleaded not guilty Friday to a
second-degree murder charge. Ara Grigoryan, 21, is charged in the
July 10 death of Elizabeth Sandoval, who was fatally injured as she
walked across Glendale Avenue near Windsor Road with another woman,
who was unhurt. Grigoryan remains jailed without bail. If convicted,
he faces a sentence of 15 years to life in prison, according to the
District Attorney’s Office. Grigoryan was arrested earlier this
week at the Mexico City airport after arriving on an Aeromexico
flight from Tijuana, said Glendale police Officer John Balian. He
allegedly had planned to continue on to Madrid, Spain, but didn’t
have the proper documents, Balian said. His ultimate destination
was his native Armenia, according to broadcast reports. Federal
marshals helped return him to Los Angeles on Wednesday. Broken parts
from Grigoryan’s 2003 four-door Mercedes-Benz S430 were found at the
scene of the fatality, and police tracked down the car with the help
of GPS technology incorporated in the car, Balian said. Police said
they were investigating who may have helped Grigoryan flee.