San Gabriel Valley Tribune (California)
November 26, 2008 Wednesday

7 arrested after street melee

ALTADENA – Seven people, including a 71-year-old man, were facing
charges Wednesday stemming from a melee along Atchison Street that
left one man injured.

Those fighting used bats, chains and anything else they could get
their hands on, deputies said.

Deputies arrested seven people Tuesday night, including two
juveniles. Officials identified the adult suspects as Alek Bronsozian,
23; Raffie Khajarian, 23; Andreas Akopyan, 24; Manouk Satamian, 60,
and Levon Arakelyan, 71. All were booked on suspicion of burglary,
authorities said. The two minors were booked on suspicion of burglary
and disturbing the peace, officials said.

A witness to the Tuesday night brawl said it appeared to be racially
motivated. The witness, who did not want to be identified for fear of
retaliation, said three Latino men who live in a back house in an
alley off Atchison were talking on a sidewalk when they were
confronted by a group of Armenian men. She said only one of the
Armenian men lived in the neighborhood.

"One was saying that this was their street," the witness said. "They
threatened them that they’re not going to let them live on this
street. I think it was an Armenian-Mexican kind of problem."

She said the fighting took place primarily in a driveway and an
alley. She also said she heard three gunshots.

"As soon as I heard the gunshots, I had my family run inside and close
the doors," she said.

Deputy Richard Lewis of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s
Altadena Station said officials began receiving multiple reports of a
fight in the 1700 block of Atchison Street about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Callers told deputies that 10 to 20 people were fighting in the
street, using "bats, chains, anything at hand," said Lewis. He
described the scene Tuesday night as "a full mutual combat melee,
which kind of spread out through the entire block."

Deputies found no evidence of a shooting, Lewis said.

The witness said a group of men broke windows and stole a television
from the house where the three Latino men live. She said police found
the men huddled behind trash cans near the house.

However, Khajarian, after posting bail, said reports surrounding the
situation got out of hand. He referred to the arrests of him and his
friends as "unfair."