Court date set in woman’s slaying

GLENDALE — A Glendale man accused of strangling his girlfriend in her home is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing on July 24, court officials said.

A judge at the Pasadena Superior Courthouse hearing will determine if there is enough evidence to warrant a trial against Grigor Grigoryan.

Grigoryan, 39, pleaded not guilty on June 25 to charges of murder, assault on a peace officer, leaving the scene of an accident and evading a peace officer and causing injury, said Jane Robison, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney.

Grigoryan, who has hired an attorney to handle his case, is being held on $1.2-million bail in connection with the death of Yvette Hakopian, 35.

Police identified Grigoryan as a person of interest after Hakopian was found dead about 2 p.m. May 30 in her home in the 600 block of West Stocker Street.

Los Angeles County coroner’s officials confirmed that Hakopian died from strangulation.

Hakopian’s mother called police after discovering her daughter’s body, Glendale police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.

“Her mother thought she had committed suicide,” Lorenz said.

Police officers believed the death looked suspicious and called homicide detectives to investigate, Lorenz said.

Investigators searched for Grigoryan to question him about Hakopian’s death.

Police found Grigoryan driving a vehicle about 6:30 p.m. and tried to pull it over. Grigoryan’s vehicle didn’t stop and led police on a chase through Los Angeles and Hollywood.

The chase ended after a police car intentionally hit Grigoryan’s vehicle at Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street, forcing it to stop on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

No one was injured during the chase. Glendale police were assisted by the Los Angeles Police Department.

A possible motive for the slaying and details about the crime scene were not available.