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    WILL L.A. DISTRICT ATTORNEY STEVE COOLEY DISMISS CASE AGAINST LAW-ABIDING CITIZEN CARL HAZARIAN?
    Appo Jabarian

    http://armenianlife.com/1224WillLADistrictAttorneySteveCooleyDismissCaseAgainstLawAbidingCitizenCarlHazarian.html
    Thu. Sept. 9

    In the early hours of January 28, 2009, way past midnight, when Carl
    Haig Hazarian was deep asleep in his Los Angeles residence, the phone
    rang. The male caller claimed to be the Police. He was practically
    yelling at Hazarian on the phone: "This is the Police. Open the door
    and step out with your hands up."

    Hazarian replied: "Prove to me you're the Police."

    The caller said: "We are the Police."

    Hazarian recounted: "At first, I thought it was a home robbery. Then
    I debated whether I should carry my gun to the door or call 911. Like
    a flip of coin, I took the chance and stepped outside without my gun,
    to see what was going on! There were several SWAT team members pointing
    their M16 weapons at me and my in-house helper - a 74-year old lady.

    They put hand cuffs on me. ... When it comes to my mind that I could
    have mistakenly stepped out with my gun, my helper and I would have
    been shot to death with a hail of bullets."

    Parallel raids were conducted on Hazarian's Santa Clarita week-end
    home, and his business locations in the cities of Los Angeles and
    Pasadena.

    After initial questioning, the handcuffs were taken off Hazarian's
    hands by the Police. No action was initiated by law enforcement
    authorities against Hazarian.

    The raids may have been triggered by the possibility that a gun owned
    by Hazarian had ended up in the possession of a criminal.

    Notes show that a few years before this LAPD raid, Hazarian had
    informed the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer Affairs that
    he had given on consignment sixty six of his assault weapons to a
    Las Vegas-based gun dealer Kelly Carn and that he had not received
    timely accounting.

    On separate occasions, he informed the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
    (ATF) agency that a while back, all his sixty six assault weapons were
    picked up from his house in Los Angeles by a retired Police officer,
    with a truck and were delivered to Mr. Carn in Las Vegas.

    Hazarian's request was to have the ATF investigate Carn whether he
    was in compliance with the law and if he indeed was reselling them
    properly to authorized/legal buyers.

    In an interesting coincidence, when Mr. Hazarian's initial attorney
    Donald Levinson wrote a pointed letter to the LAPD strongly criticizing
    the mishandling by the Police of Mr. Hazarian, he was then charged with
    "illegal" possession of several assault weapons.

    Mr. Hazarian was summoned to the Superior Court of The State of
    California to answer to charges that came several months after a
    prolonged silence by the Police. However, many of the charges were
    dropped except for two counts - "the unlawful possession" of a
    Springfield SAR-8 and an Uzi Model A.

    In March, when legal proceedings were in full swing, I contacted the
    media relations officers in the office of the Chief of Police Charlie
    Beck asking "Chief Beck, on January 29, 2010, Honorable Judge George
    Lomelli of the CA Superior Court reviewed the request by Mr. William
    Paparian, the Attorney for Defendant Mr. Carl Hazarian (Case No.:
    BA364640), to return some of his seized property back to him.

    Subsequent to a review of the request, Judge Lomelli granted the
    request and ordered you as the Chief of the Los Angeles Police
    Department to return the seized property to Mr. Hazarian. Can you
    kindly explain why to this date the LAPD has not complied with Judge
    Lomelli's 'ORDER FOR RETURN OF PROPERTY'?"

    Captain Kevin F. McCarthy, Commanding Officer of LAPD "Gang and
    Narcotics Division" answered: "We believed and continue to believe
    that the property the Court wants us to return is evidence for the
    current case. In that regard, the Los Angeles District Attorney asked
    the Court to reconsider the Order. Upon the Court's denial of that
    request, we have processed the property for release. We expect it to
    be available for release sometime next week."

    During a follow-up conversation, attorney Paparian underlined: "Mr.

    Hazarian has been charged with the unlawful possession of a Springfield
    SAR-8 and an Uzi Model A. Both firearms were properly registered
    with the California Department of Justice (CDOJ.) The Springfield
    SAR-8 has a 'flash suppressor/muzzle break' attached to the end of
    the barrel. This is how the firearm was manufactured and delivered
    by the importer and/or retail seller. This device, as manufactured,
    has a dual purpose of serving as a 'grenade launcher'.

    Thousands of similar firearms with dual purposes -- 'flash
    suppressors/muzzle breaks' -- have been legally registered as
    California legal assault weapons. The dual purpose attachment was in
    fact installed by the manufacturer or importer and was also considered
    an integral part of the registered firearm. The CDOJ has addressed this
    issue in the past with an imported firearm (Yugoslavian model 59/66
    SKS variant) that was deemed to have a grenade launcher attachment
    'flash suppressor/muzzle break' and delivered a notice of violation
    and a request to modify so as to bring into compliance with current
    CDOJ regulations. The CDOJ never issued a notification that the
    grenade launcher attachment on the Springfield SAR-8 was a violation."

    Mr. Paparian further elaborated: "With regard to the Uzi Model A, among
    the items that were seized from Mr. Hazarian's residence in January of
    2009 and returned pursuant to court order were documents indicating
    that this firearm had been rendered inoperable per federal Bureau of
    Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms guidelines and fully deactivated as
    of December 31, 1999."

    One should not be surprised to know that the registrations of
    above referenced weapons were properly handled by Mr. Hazarian. An
    investigation by this writer revealed that Mr. Hazarian has
    meticulously maintained an extensive documentation of his gun and
    assault rifle collection.

    In late April, Paparian stated that the "DA asked for more time to
    evaluate our request that the case be dismissed," setting the next
    court day as Friday, May 7th.

    In early July, 2010, Judge George Lomelli issued an order to release
    more of the confiscated guns, assault weapons and other property back
    to Hazarian. During one court hearing, the Judge expressed surprise
    that the case had not been settled. In fact, at the request of the
    District Attorney, it was further continued in order to give the
    DA additional time to evaluate attorney Paparian's request that the
    case be dismissed. Another court session took place on July 27. Then
    August 27th became the new continuation date. Next, the case was set
    for trial on September 8th.

    On September 2, I contacted the District Attorney's office pointing
    out that "I was in court the previous week when this case was set
    for trial the following week. Your Deputy advised the judge that Mr.

    Hazarian is facing 8 years in prison and the attorney for Mr. Hazarian
    said that it is a mandatory state prison with no probation or suspended
    sentence if Mr. Hazarian is found guilty. I was also told that the
    two firearms at issue in this case were properly registered with
    the California Department of Justice and one of them was actually
    deactivated and made inoperable more than a decade ago. I understand
    that Dominick Rivetti, Chief of your Bureau of Investigation, will be
    called as a character witness for Mr. Hazarian who is a very prominent
    and respected leader in the Armenian-American community. That's
    why this case is of great interest to my readers. When would it be
    convenient to conduct an interview with a representative of your
    office?"

    After several e-mails, I was told: "Regarding your request to interview
    Deputy District Attorney Andrew Cooper, the prosecutor is not doing
    interviews at this time." I was also told that "Defendant Carl Hazarian
    faces a maximum sentence of three years and eight months in state
    prison, if convicted by a jury. The charges include an allegation
    (sometimes referred to as a sentencing enhancement) that the imposition
    of the sentence cannot be suspended or probation granted. If a jury
    finds that allegation to be true, then Hazarian will not be eligible
    for a suspended sentence or probation. Regarding your question about
    firearm registration, the merits of the case have not been argued in
    court, so, at this time, we will not comment on the evidence."

    I then asked: "If Deputy District Attorney Andrew Cooper, the
    prosecutor, is not available for an interview, is there someone else
    from the DA's office who will be? Is District Attorney Steve Cooley
    agreeable to be interviewed?"

    The District Attorney's media relations officer answered: "It is very
    unlikely that District Attorney Steve Cooley will do an interview on
    this matter, as he is not involved in the prosecution of this case.

    However, at your request, I will ask if he is amenable to doing
    the interview."

    As of press time, Sept 7, it was not clear whether District Attorney
    Steve Cooley would be agreeable to be interviewed.

    Mr. Paparian told USA Armenian Life: "I have been practicing law as
    a Criminal Defense Attorney in Los Angeles County Courts for more
    than 30 years. Almost without exception the prosecutors from the Los
    Angeles County District Attorney's Office that I have worked with have
    always been very fair minded and professionally responsible. For the
    past 5 months we have been waiting for a response from the District
    Attorney's Office to my request that the case against Carl Hazarian
    be dismissed. The reason for the delay is because the D.A.'s Office
    has ordered a review of all cases filed by the Gun Unit of the Los
    Angeles Police Department. I am convinced that if the D.A.'s Office
    knew what it knows now when the Carl Hazarian case was first presented
    it would never have been filed. Mr. Hazarian has been charged with the
    possession of destructive devices arising from his ownership of two
    assault rifles that had been properly registered with the California
    Department of Justice. One of the rifles was exactly as it had been
    manufactured with no alterations to it and the other one had been
    deactivated and rendered inoperable more than 10 years ago. I remain
    optimistic that the administration of the District Attorney's Office
    will ultimately make the right decision and dismiss the case against
    Carl Hazarian because they have an ethical obligation to dismiss a
    case when the charges against the accused cannot be proven."

    SIDEBAR:

    Mr. Hazarian is well-known benefactor and has an illustrious record as
    such. He is a regular contributor to numerous charitable organizations
    including The Handicapped Veterans of Wars; The Police Youth Charity,
    among several other worthwhile causes.

    He is a Founding Member of three day schools. He is also a founding
    contributor to a very successful Music Academy in Southern California.

    He is a horseman and an equestrian Champion; a pilot; a seasoned
    Harley rider; an expert marksman; a parachutist; an inventor; a
    highly talented painter and iconographer; a knowledgeable boatman;
    the "Best-In-World" record holder in shooting trap from the hip. And
    as such, he is registered with Guinness World Record since 2002
    (ID-Claim #23561; membership #23151).

    Carl Haig Hazarian is a highly respected member in the Republican
    Party. He was awarded over 17 commendations from several elected
    public officials including President Ronald Reagan, Congressman Carlos
    Moorhead (Ret.), CA State Senator Newt Russell (Ret.) and many others.

    He is a collector of automobiles, rugs, paintings, coins and antiques.

    Mr. Hazarian's family is highly respected. His late mother Marie
    Hazarian was one of Lebanon's towering humanitarian figures who left
    a deep stamp on Lebanese society. She has left behind a heritage
    filled with numerous success stories where the rights of the helpless
    and needy citizens were fully respected. Her tireless efforts were
    enhanced by an indomitable spirit of voluntarism that spanned over
    a period of six decades. She approached each and every barrier with
    an uncompromising willpower in order to achieve social justice for
    Lebanon's needy citizens. Through her iron-willed, charismatic,
    and empathetic personality she marshaled all the available human and
    material resources in order to make a positive impact in the life of
    thousands of community members. Marie Hazarian practiced non-stop
    humanitarianism without discrimination. She didn't ask whether
    the needy person was an Armenian, Christian or Muslim Arab. That's
    exactly why she earned the love and respect of the entire population
    of Lebanon. She was accepted as being a model citizen of the country
    of cedars. As such, she received national and international acclaim.

    His Holiness Pope John Paul II of Vatican, His Holiness Khoren I, the
    Armenian Catholicos, President Camille Chamoun of Lebanon, and several
    other European and American officials were among the illustrious
    personalities that bestowed upon Marie Hazarian pontifical blessings,
    presidential proclamations, the Honorary Key to the State of New York,
    and many other awards and commendations.

    Her valiant efforts especially touched the lives of innumerable
    orphans, seniors, the handicapped, crime victims and wrongfully
    imprisoned individuals. It is through her life and valiant voluntarism
    that she inspired many others to follow in her footsteps in or­der
    to better human existence and to alleviate the pains experienced
    by others.

    Carl Hazarian's late brother was a deputy attorney general of the
    Republic of Lebanon who had established an illustrious career as a
    successful prosecutor. He was assassinated by criminal elements.




    From: A. Papazian
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