Threats, punches, scuffle reported on different buses

GLENDALE — Two men were arrested Sunday in separate incidents aboard transit buses after one punched a passenger and the other threatened to hurt a bus driver, police said.

In one of the assaults, a Glendale Beeline bus driver northbound on Brand Boulevard near Colorado Street at 3:35 p.m. noticed a passenger was holding a knife at his waist, Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.

The bus driver, who was not identified, asked the man, Ruslan Gabrielyan, 29, of Glendale, about the knife, to which he allegedly replied that he was going to kill her, Lorenz said.

“She was scared,” he said.

Another passenger saw their confrontation, exited the bus at the next stop and hailed a police officer who was working the Unity Fest, he said. Police checked areas around Unity Fest, got help from citizens and found Gabrielyan inside the festival, Lorenz said.

Gabrielyan was arrested on suspicion of making threats and brandishing a knife in a threatening manner, he said. Police also seized the knife.

Beeline bus drivers aren’t generally assaulted by riders, said Jano Baghdanian, the city’s Traffic and Safety Administrator.

“We haven’t had any experiences about bus drivers being assaulted or having any difficulties,” said Jano Baghdanian, the city’s Traffic and Safety Administrator. “They may get somebody that may get upset and they don’t want to pay a fare or something.”

The buses are equipped with video cameras, which Baghdanian said are used to record everything that occurs inside.

The second attack, this time on a county Metro bus, occurred at 7 p.m. the same day.

Gregory Alegria, 45, of Los Angeles allegedly punched a passenger in face. The victim was doing a crossword puzzle at the time, Lorenz said.

After the assault, the bus driver pulled to the street curb and asked police for help.

But Alegria allegedly attacked the passenger again and tried to stab him with a pencil, Lorenz said.

Police went to Jackson Street and Broadway, where the bus had stopped. They saw two men trying to hold down Alegria, who was yelling, Lorenz said. Alegria was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, he said.

The incidents were not related to the Unity Fest, Lorenz said.