3 Plead Innocent in Stabbing Death

Three youths accused in the stabbing death of Hoover High School senior Tony Petrossian pleaded not guilty to murder and attempted murder charges Tuesday in Pasadena Municipal Court as dozens of the victim’s friends and family members looked on.

Roni Malik Hovsepians, Tony Ghamelian and Boris Sarokhian, all 18, face minimum sentences of 25 years to life in prison if convicted of first-degree murder, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Carol Rash, who is prosecuting the case.

A hearing is expected to be held soon in juvenile court to determine whether a fourth teen-ager, a 17-year-old boy, should be tried as an adult. Judge Terry Green denied bail for the three suspects and ordered them to return to court July 24 to set a date for a preliminary hearing. Petrossian, 17, was killed May 30 when he tried to intervene in a dispute among several Hoover High students over a broken $50 car stereo, according to police reports.

Petrossian reportedly was not involved in the dispute itself, but had accompanied a friend, Armen Davoodian, to Brand Park after school that day. A melee broke out at the park in which Petrossian was fatally stabbed and Davoodian suffered a cut to his right thigh, police said. Last week, Glendale Unified School District officials held a private ceremony in which Petrossian’s high school diploma was presented to his family.