Ara Grigoryan Arrested For Hit And Run in Glendale

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Trial nears as families prepare

Attorneys ask for more time as Ara Grigoryan faces the court for the death of Elizabeth Sandoval.

By Jason Wells of Glendale News Press

 

PASADENA — The family of Elizabeth Sandoval — the 24-year-old Glendale resident who was struck and killed by a car while jaywalking across South Glendale Avenue in July — came face to face for the first time Tuesday with her accused killer, his family and the Pasadena Superior courtroom where they will see the justice system play out for weeks to come.

 

Sandoval’s accused killer, 20-year-old Ara Grigoryan, sat in a bright orange prison jumpsuit and handcuffs Tuesday morning as attorneys asked for more time to develop their cases.

 

Smiling and nodding to nearly 20 of his family members and friends who sat in the courtroom, Grigoryan’s mere presence dispelled widespread rumors that he had been either killed or harmed while in county jail awaiting trial on one count of murder.

 

The rumor spurred more than a hundred calls to Glendale Police, who have been trying to debunk the lie ever since.

 

Grigoryan is accused of driving the black Mercedes-Benz sedan that on July 10 hit and killed Sandoval as she and a friend jaywalked across South Glendale Avenue near East Windsor Road, and then left the scene. advertisement

 

 

Glendale Police, along with personnel from several other law enforcement agencies, eventually tracked the Mercedes to Van Nuys, and a few days later, Mexican authorities handed Grigoryan over to U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement officials after he was reportedly caught at an airport in Mexico City trying to board a flight to Spain.

 

Authorities believe he was en route to his native Armenia.

 

Throughout it all, Sandoval’s family appealed to the public for help in tracking down the hit-and-run driver and the car.

 

As the Sandoval family huddled together outside of the courtroom, the anxiety of an upcoming trial clearly had a dampening effect.

 

“We just want to know why,” said Flor Martinez, Sandoval’s cousin.

 

A few feet down the hall, family members and friends of Grigoryan had also gathered. Visibly tense and upset, they refused to comment on the case, a distinction between the two families that made for undeniable tension, and prompted a Sheriff’s deputy to separate them on either side of the courtroom to avoid the possibility of an emotional flare-up.

 

While the hearing was largely procedural, it was clearly more than that for the two families. For the Grigoryans, it was a chance for a show of support. For the Sandovals, it provided their first opportunity to see Grigoryan in person.

 

“We’re all trying to be composed,” Martinez said.

 

Pasadena Superior Court Judge Laura Priver set a new status hearing date for Sept. 18, at which time attorneys will have to settle on a preliminary trial date within the following 10 days.

 

Grigoryan’s attorney, Fred Minassian, said he needs more time to obtain expert reports and other evidence in the investigation.

 

“We’re trying to get all the facts on the table and figure out where we go from there,” he said.

 

Glendale Police detectives have continued to investigate whether Grigoryan had any help in eluding authorities for nearly a week, but no one else in the case has been arrested.

 

Concurrently, police have continued to field calls about the rumor that Grigoryan had been killed in jail, Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.

 

“I don’t know how that rumor got started or why it got started,” he said.

 

The rumor had apparently reached Grigoryan and his family, with Minassian admonishing whoever started it and whatever its intended consequence.

 

“I don’t know who would do that and for what purpose, but thankfully it’s not true,” he said. “He’s having a very difficult time.”

 

Minassian acknowledged that the incident has been hard on both families, but said his client was mindful of the path before him.

 

“He understands he has to go through the process,” he said.