GLENDALE : 2 Suspects Sought in Hammer Attack

Glendale police are seeking a 19-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy believed to have been involved in the assault of an alleged rival gang member with a hammer outside a convenience store.

Israel Gaston Valdez and the youth, both residents of Glendale, each are wanted for felony assault with a deadly weapon, said police Investigator Behrouz Hashemi.

The 17-year-old’s name was withheld because of his age.

The attack, which police believe was gang-related, occurred Saturday, the day before Valdez’s 19th birthday.

Valdez allegedly hit Nzhde Nick Darabedyan, 22, of Glendale three times in the head and once in the back with the hammer. The 17-year-old is suspected of helping Valdez keep his balance during the attack, Hashemi said.

Darabedyan was treated at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, where he was released the next day, Hashemi said.

A third unidentified attacker allegedly took out a 2-foot galvanized pipe from the vehicle and struck Shant Sarkis Dernderian, 17, of Glendale, who wasn’t hospitalized.

The alleged assailants’ 1969 Mustang was found abandoned Sunday in the 300 block of Griswold Avenue. Both the hammer and pipe, believed to have been used in the assaults, were recovered from the car, which was known to have been driven by Valdez. The 17-year-old suspect was identified by one of the victims, Hashemi said.