Teen-Ager Held in Slaying of Reseda Man

Kevin Young Cravens, 19, of Woodland Hills was arrested Monday on suspicion of the murder of Michael James Altoonian of Reseda, who police said was shot in the head in the aftermath of two nights of violence at the Malibu Grand Prix in Northridge.

Lt. Vern Higbee said police have “witnesses who identified Cravens as the shooter in the homicide in which Altoonian was killed.”

Altoonian, 20, of Reseda, was driving his pickup truck on Roscoe Boulevard early Saturday morning after spending part of the evening at the Malibu Grand Prix, a video game center and race track for miniature autos. Another pickup truck pulled alongside near Vanalden Avenue and a gunman shot Altoonian with a pistol, police said.

2 Friends Present

Altoonian was accompanied by two friends, who said they had been present during violent disturbances on two earlier nights at the Malibu Grand Prix.

Witnesses said five young men appeared March 9, armed with a pistol, a knife and martial arts clubs. They threatened employees and patrons and smashed the side-view mirror of a pickup truck in the parking lot, according to the witnesses. Three other men appeared the following night and got into fights.

One of Altoonian’s passengers, who asked not to be identified, said the gunman may have been aiming at him because he called police after his truck mirror was smashed March 9.

But Higbee said investigators believe the shooting had nothing to do with the smashed truck mirror. He said the killing was part of the aftermath of the fights on March 10.

Cravens is a 1983 graduate of John F. Kennedy High School in Granada Hills, Higbee said.

No more arrests are expected, he said.