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City News Service
October 7, 2004 Thursday
Man Pleads No Contest to Soliciting Murders
LOS ANGELES
A former pickle factory owner accused of involvement in an Armenian
crime ring pleaded no contest today to seven counts of solicitation
of murder. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Bob Bowers Jr.
immediately sentenced 42- year-old Edvard Gyulnazaryan, 42, of
Glendale, to 15 years in state prison, said Jane Robison of the
District Attorney's Office. None of the intended victims were killed
during the two-year scheme, Robison said. Gyulnazaryan was the last
of six people to be sentenced in connection with the case, which
reportedly constituted one of the largest murder-for-hire cases
investigated by the Glendale Police Department. The FBI also aided in
the probe. Five other defendants were sentenced earlier to terms
ranging from 180 days in county jail with a suspended state prison
term to nine years in state prison, according to Robison. The crime
ring was believed to have been involved in credit card fraud and
extortion, authorities said. The Los Angeles Times reported in June
that investigators learned about the plot when Gyulnazaryan asked an
informant if he knew anyone who would conduct a murder-for-hire. One
of the first discussions took place at the pickle factory in a small
brick storefront on an industrial stretch of San Fernando Road, the
Times reported, citing court documents. Gyulnazaryan allegedly told a
would-be killer that he would pay $5,000 to have a worker shot twice
in the head at the Washington Smoke Shop in Pasadena, according to
court documents. Other intended targets also were discussed in
alleged murder-for-hire plots, according to the documents. "We
believe we thwarted the murders that were planned," police Sgt. Kirk
Palmer told The Times last year. "The individuals who were targeted
may have been rivals."
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
October 7, 2004 Thursday
Man Pleads No Contest to Soliciting Murders
LOS ANGELES
A former pickle factory owner accused of involvement in an Armenian
crime ring pleaded no contest today to seven counts of solicitation
of murder. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Bob Bowers Jr.
immediately sentenced 42- year-old Edvard Gyulnazaryan, 42, of
Glendale, to 15 years in state prison, said Jane Robison of the
District Attorney's Office. None of the intended victims were killed
during the two-year scheme, Robison said. Gyulnazaryan was the last
of six people to be sentenced in connection with the case, which
reportedly constituted one of the largest murder-for-hire cases
investigated by the Glendale Police Department. The FBI also aided in
the probe. Five other defendants were sentenced earlier to terms
ranging from 180 days in county jail with a suspended state prison
term to nine years in state prison, according to Robison. The crime
ring was believed to have been involved in credit card fraud and
extortion, authorities said. The Los Angeles Times reported in June
that investigators learned about the plot when Gyulnazaryan asked an
informant if he knew anyone who would conduct a murder-for-hire. One
of the first discussions took place at the pickle factory in a small
brick storefront on an industrial stretch of San Fernando Road, the
Times reported, citing court documents. Gyulnazaryan allegedly told a
would-be killer that he would pay $5,000 to have a worker shot twice
in the head at the Washington Smoke Shop in Pasadena, according to
court documents. Other intended targets also were discussed in
alleged murder-for-hire plots, according to the documents. "We
believe we thwarted the murders that were planned," police Sgt. Kirk
Palmer told The Times last year. "The individuals who were targeted
may have been rivals."
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress