DETECTIVES PROBE ARMENIAN-RELATED RESTAURANT HOMICIDE
Liana Aghajanian

ianyan magazine

April 6 2010

Four Armenian men were shot and killed at a Mediterranean restaurant
over the weekend in North Hollywood’s Valley Village district, with
Los Angeles Department Homicide Detectives still struggling to find
the suspects or a motive.

On April 3, around 4:30 p.m., suspects walked into the Hot Spot
Cafe on Riverside Blvd and fired multiple gunshots, according to a
statement released by the LAPD.

Hayk Yegnanyan, 25, Sarkis Karadjian, 26, Harut Baburyan, 28 and
Vardan Tofalyan, 31 died as a result of gunshot wounds.

Although the shooting does not appear to be random, the motive for the
crime is unknown. Law enforcement sources who spoke on the condition
of anonymity to the Los Angeles Times said they believed the shooting
was tied to Armenian or Eurasian organized crime but are unsure of
the motive.

The LAPD declined to comment to ianyan regarding any details of the
case and calls to Hot Spot Cafe went unanswered.

The Times also reported that Baburyan, of Glendale had a criminal
record according to court records and interviews.

"He was convicted in 2000 of receiving stolen property and sentenced
to 18 days in jail and five years’ probation, according to the Los
Angeles County district attorney’s office," reported The Times. "
Six years later, he pleaded no contest to illegal possession of a
semiautomatic weapon and was sentenced to 16 months in prison."

It also unknown if the shooting was gang related, however unnamed
law enforcement sources told the Times on Sunday, April 4, that they
believed the shooting might have involved gangs.

The most prominent Armenian gang in Los Angeles is known as "Armenian
Power," which rose after the collapse of the Soviet Union caused
Armenian immigration waves to the area.

Sam Salazar, senior lead officer of the Los Angeles Police Department’s
Northeast Division, which patrols much of Armenian Power’s turf, first
encountered AP in 1988 when the owners of a now-defunct Hollywood
carwash complained about the gang’s graffiti.

Salazar met with the gang’s leader, Vahag "Boxer" Hagopian, a
powerfully built man Salazar remembered as "5 foot, 9 inches tall
and as wide as an ox," according to a 1997 Los Angeles Times article.

The shootings come just one week after the slaying of Karine Hakobyan,
who was found by her 14-year-old daughter fatally shot behind the
wheel of her car.

Hakoyban’s killing came a little more than a year after her husband
Khachik Safaryan, 43, and their 9-year-old daughter Lucine were found
shot to death outside their apartment in Hollywood’s Little Armenia
on Dec. 11, 2008.

Detectives investigating the killing of her husband said there appeared
to be a link between the crimes, reported the Associated Press.