L.A. councilman calls for probe of slaying suspect’s release in Puerto Rico
A Los Angeles city councilman is calling on federal authorities to investigate why a judge in Puerto Rico granted bail to a Los Angeles homicide suspect who is now on the run.
Councilman Paul Krekorian, whose district includes theNorth Hollywood parking lot where 19-year-old Mike Yepremyan was gunned down, said Judge Gloria Maynard’s decision to release the teenager’s suspected killer is “so disgusting, so absolutely bizarre and inexplicable that I think it has to be investigated.”
Last month, authorities located and arrested the man they believe killed Yepremyan in a beach town outside Puerto Rico’s capital city, San Juan.
Despite a no-bail arrest warrant issued by authorities in Los Angeles, Zareh Manjikian was released on a $50,000 bond. Krekorian slammed the unusually low bail amount, saying that it allowed Manjikian to put down only $5,000 with a bail bondsman, and receive a “get out of jail card basically for free.”
Manjikian hasn’t been seen since he bailed out.
The turn of events has shocked police in Los Angeles, who have been investigating the case for 18 months, and the slain teenager’s family.
Attempts to reach the judge in Puerto Rico have been unsuccessful.
The series of events that apparently led to Yepremyan’s deadly November 2009 shooting were set in motion when he texted an insult about his girlfriend’s friend, who happened to see the message.
Soon after, Yepremyan began receiving mysterious phone calls from a stranger, who eventually instructed him to meet him in a Sears parking lot, where the shooting occurred, witnesses said.
Krekorian introduced a City Council resolution Wednesday calling for a federal investigation, and he hopes the council will vote on the matter by next week. He said the offices of the U.S. senators from California, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, have also expressed support.
“I can’t imagine any good reason that any judge anywhere would release a murder suspect who is absolutely known to be a flight risk,” he said.
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