Man, 21, Pleads Guilty to Throwing Acid

A Hacienda Heights man pleaded guilty Monday to charges that he threw acid in a Glendale woman’s face two years ago, blinding and disfiguring her.

Emad Fawzi Kalta, 21, pleaded guilty to mayhem, aggravated mayhem and assault with caustic chemicals before Pasadena Superior Court Judge J. Michael Byrne.

He was ordered to return June 4 for sentencing. He faces a maximum term of life in prison, authorities said.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Nancy M. Naftal said no plea-bargain agreement was involved in Kalta’s decision to enter a guilty plea.

“It’s real good news,” said Shusan Eloyan, 25, who was attacked by Kalta while walking to a Glendale market in July, 1989, to receive some money from her mother’s ex-husband.

She told police that she was approached from behind by a man who asked what time it was. When she turned to reply, the man threw a caustic yellow-green liquid in her face, she told police.

Eloyan, who moved to the United States from Soviet Armenia in 1988, later identified her assailant as a friend of her stepbrother. Authorities said a dispute among members of Eloyan’s family appeared to be the motive for the attack.

Glendale police arrested Kalta on May 17, 1990, in Hacienda Heights.

Jury selection in Kalta’s trial was scheduled to begin Monday when he entered the guilty plea. Kalta’s attorney, Henry Salcido, could not be reached for comment.

In a brief interview Monday, Eloyan said she hopes that upcoming surgery will restore some of her eyesight.

“They said they’ll do their best,” she said.

Eloyan said she spends her time listening to music and to tape-recorded library books, including poetry by T. S. Eliot.