Bomb-making items allegedly tied to Glendale assault suspect
Investigators recovered bomb-making materials this week inside a big rig, which they reportedly linked to a Glendale man who was being investigated for assaulting his ex-girlfriend with a sledgehammer, police said.
Prosecutors charged Hambardzum Rushanyan, 32, on Wednesday with possessing explosives-making materials, according to a Los Angeles County Superior Court criminal complaint.
The materials were found in a big rig parked in a storage yard in Santa Clarita, Glendale police spokeswoman Tahnee Lightfoot said. Rushanyan reportedly didn’t own the truck, but he drove it, she added.
He reportedly sent his ex-girlfriend a text message with a photograph of gun parts, gun powder and a possible pipe, saying he had the materials to make an explosive and was going to make a bomb, Lightfoot said.
“She took it as a threat,” she added.
Rushanyan’s ex-girlfriend showed the photograph to police after he was arrested on Feb. 27 on suspicion of breaking into her home in the 1300 block of East Windsor Road and assaulting her.
Rushanyan was armed with a sledgehammer when he entered his ex-girlfriend’s home and choked her 67-year-old mother, Lightfoot said.
His ex-girlfriend initially fled the home during the assault. When she returned, Rushanyan also choked her, she said.
He reportedly used the sledgehammer to “destroy” her home, according to police.
Soon after, police arrived and took Rushanyan into custody, Lightfoot said.
Police found the sledgehammer on the ground about 10 feet away from Rushanyan, she added.
He was also charged with second-degree burglary, vandalism and threatening and assaulting his ex-girlfriend and her mother.
He pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to those charges, according to Ricardo Santiago, a spokesman of Los Angeles County District Attorney.
Rushanyan had dated his ex-girlfriend for six years, but they broke up a year ago, police said.
She later obtained a restraining order against him after he continued to send her unwanted text messages, Lightfoot said.
He faces a separate vandalism charge, which was filed last July 26, according to court records.
Glendale police are still investigating the July case, which is tied to the restraining order.
Rushanyan, who has remained in police custody, is scheduled to appear March 13 in a Burbank courtroom.
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