Pair charged in shooting
Men from Burbank, Glendale plead not guilty in death of 49-year-old woman,
who was killed at her front door.
By Veronica Rocha
Published: Last Updated Friday, February 27, 2009

BURBANK – A Burbank man and a Glendale man pleaded not guilty Friday
to shooting a 49-year-old woman who answered her front door early
Wednesday morning and was fatally wounded, officials said.

Arpiar Terrgalstanyan, 20, of Glendale and Armen Mangasaryan, 29, of
Burbank, were charged with the woman’s death and entered their pleas
Friday at Burbank Superior Court, officials said.

Mangasaryan, who was held on $2-million bail, faces an additional
charge of personal discharge of a handgun, while Terrgalstanyan, who
was held on $1.1-million bail, also is charged with one felony count
of possession of a silencer and two felony counts of possession of an
assault weapon, including a semi-automatic rifle, according to the Los
Angeles County District Attorney’s office.

Terrgalstanyan was arrested about 3:30 a.m. Thursday and Mangasaryan
was taken into custody about 8 a.m. Wednesday in connection with the
shooting death, Burbank Police Sgt. Robert Quesada said.

Coroner’s officials identified the woman as Jasmine Voskanian of
Burbank, said Lt. David Smith of the Los Angeles County Coroner’s
Office.

The cause of death was ruled as a gunshot wound to her head, he said.

The men may have gone to the home in the 4200 block of Jacaranda
Avenue in Burbank to collect payment for an unpaid debt, but the type
of debt owed to them is unknown, Quesada said.

`This is not a random act,’ he said. `There was a connection here.’

She answered her home’s front door at about 12:20 a.m. Wednesday after
she heard either a doorbell or knock and was shot once, Quesada
said. Her boyfriend, who also was inside the home during the shooting,
found her lying on the ground near the front door, he said.

Her boyfriend called police, who then called paramedics, but they were
unable to resuscitate her and she was pronounced dead at the home, he
said.

Her boyfriend was not a suspect and cooperated with detectives, he
said.

Neighbors told police that the couple were renting the home and moved
into it about six months ago, Quesada said.

Quesada described the upscale neighborhood as safe and quiet.

Police canvassed the neighborhood immediately after the shooting and
searched in residents’ trash cans, neighbor Patricia Barrow said.

Police knocked on Barrow’s front door early Wednesday and asked ifshe
had heard or seen anything suspicious that night, but she told them
she hadn’t.

Barrow, who has lived in her home since 1955, knows most of her
neighbors on the street except for the woman, who she said recently
moved in.

`There was a lot of people coming in and out,’ Barrow said. `There was
a lot of foot traffic.’

The neighborhood was void of crime before Wednesday’s shooting, she
said.

Neighbor Alice O’Donnell, who has resided in the neighborhood for 14
years, heard a shot about 12:15 a.m., but she didn’t think much of it.

`This is not unusual noise coming from here, but murder is,=80=9D
O’Donnell said.

But resident Bob Olson said the neighborhood is one of the safest and
quietest in the city.

`Oh my God, this is unbelievable,’ he said of the shooting.

Olson was at a polling place Tuesday night for the Burbank city
election and returned home about 11:45 p.m. when he heard a loud knock
on his front door at about 3 a.m. Wednesday.

He didn’t think twice about opening his door because, he said, he
thought a neighbor needed help. It turned out to be the police asking
if he had heard anything.

Wednesday’s shooting was unsettling for neighbor John Dietrich.

`It makes you not want to open your door, especially if you are not
expecting somebody,’ he said.

Police have recovered a handgun and seized a black Mercedes-Benz,
which may have been used as a getaway car after the shooting, he said.

If Mangasaryan is convicted, he faces 25 years to life in prison, and
if Terrgalstanyan is convicted, he could get 29 years to life in
prison, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s
office. The pair arescheduled to appear Monday at Pasadena Superior
Court for a preliminary hearing.

– VERONICA ROCHA covers public safety and the courts. She may be
reached at (818) 637-3232 or by e-mail at veronica.rocha@latimes.com
Copyright © 2009 – Burbank Leader

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