Judge rejects new trial for 2 men convicted in ‘text message’ murder case

A judge has denied a request for a new trial for two men convicted of murdering a teenager over a text message, finding that the recantations of two key eyewitnesses were not credible.

Vahagn Jurian and Zareh Manjikian are serving life sentences for the fatal shooting of 19-year-old Mike Yepremyan, who prosecutors say was attacked after sending a text message to his girlfriend that insulted her friend.

The pair challenged their convictions when two witnesses came forward after the 2012 murder trial saying they lied about what they saw the night of the shooting and felt haunted by guilt.

Attorneys for the convicted men argued that the new testimony showed that Yepremyan was shot by his own gun during a struggle with one of the men. But prosecutors said the recantations couldn’t be trusted, arguing that the witnesses backtracked from their new version of events when district attorney’s investigators confronted them.

In a written ruling released late Monday, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Gregory A. Dohi sided with prosecutors, calling the recantations of Gevorg Pashayan and Edgar Asaturyan “lacking in credibility” and their motives for coming forward “unconvincing.”

The testimony the pair gave during the trial was consistent with what they and other eyewitnesses told police before the trial, the judge noted. Pashayan and Asaturyan’s claims that they lied initially to protect the Yepremyan family’s feelings “make little sense,” Dohi wrote.

The judge noted that both witnesses helped exonerate a man who was arrested early in the investigation.

“Based on this history, it seems unlikely that Mr. Pashayan and Mr. Asaturyan would have completely warped their testimony at trial just to curry favor with the prosecution or the Yepremyan family,” he wrote. “If victim Yepremyan had a gun that night, they would have said so.”

The recantations are “so problematic that they do not create a reasonable probability of a different outcome,” Dohi wrote. “The legal issues are clear and straightforward. The crime itself, however, remains utterly senseless.”

Manjikian’s attorney, Michael Levin, said he was disappointed by the decision and is evaluating whether to file an appeal.

“I disagree with the court’s reasoning, its conclusions and its analysis,” Levin said.

Alex Kessel, an attorney representing Jurian, could not be reached for comment.

The events that led to the Nov. 18, 2009, shooting began when Yepremyan sent a text to his girlfriend insulting her friend:

“Every time u hang out with that bitch u guys get hookah I don’t understand it,” the text said. “Is there something cool bout her n hookah that u enjoy so much?”

When the friend saw the message, she said she was going to call her brother to beat up Yepremyan, according to court testimony.

Strangers started calling Yepremyan shortly after, asking why he insulted the woman. The two sides agreed to meet at a Sears parking lot in North Hollywood to resolve the dispute.

Yepremyan called his friends for backup, and five people showed up to support him.

When Manjikian and Jurian arrived, the confrontation with Yepremyan and his associates began peacefully, with handshakes and a conversation, but it quickly turned physical. Punches were thrown. A gunshot went off.

Police found a 9 mm shell casing near Yepremyan’s body, but they never found the gun that fired it.

At their trial, all five of Yepremyan’s wingmen — including Pashayan and Asaturyan — testified that they heard a loud bang during the fight. No one saw a gun, and no one said the victim was carrying a weapon.

Prosecutors argued that Manjikian pulled a handgun and shot Yepremyan point-blank in the back of the head. Some witnesses said Manjikian had been keeping his hands in his pockets before the fight and was throwing a punch when the gun went off.

Several months after the trial, Pashayan and Asaturyan changed their story, saying Yepremyan brought a gun to the parking lot.

They said that Yepremyan pulled the gun from his waistband during the confrontation and that Manjikian reached for it, prompting a struggle over the firearm. Asaturyan said he saw Manjikian take control of the pistol and try to use it to hit Yepremyan in the head when it accidentally went off.

Dohi weighed the recantations, which were given under oath in interviews with defense attorneys, as well as evidence presented during a hearing that spanned several months. Both witnesses appeared at the hearing but would not testify after the district attorney’s office refused to grant them immunity from prosecution for perjury.

A third witness who was not in the parking lot that night did testify and appeared to corroborate a key point in the recanting witnesses’ new story. That witness, Armond Aladadyan, said a friend of Yepremyan’s called him that day to ask him to come help in the dispute. In the background, Aladadyan said, he heard Yepremyan say he had a gun.

Dohi determined that Aladadyan was trying to help one of the convicted men and was not credible.

In his ruling, Dohi also wrote that it’s “highly improbable” the gun went off during a struggle since the physical evidence showed it was touching the back of Yepremyan’s head.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Nicole Flood said she was relieved by the decision.

“We feel that truly justice has been done,” Flood said, adding that she directed investigators to thoroughly look into the new story.

“We can’t go in just to preserve a conviction at all costs. … The last thing we want is somebody doing time for a crime they didn’t commit. That’s, I think, every prosecutor’s worst nightmare.”

alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

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