Examine closely the motives of vandalism

So a Los Angeles County Superior Court (“Judge drops hate crime allegation, Sept. 30) drops charges against a “23-year-old man accused of smashing a religious monument at St. Mary’s Armenian Apostolic Church.”

As a Christian Armenian it is upsetting to see how someone can just destroy such a valuable monument. Isn’t this a bias-motivated crime?

The judge obviously failed to recognize the violent crime allegedly committed by Victor Petrescu.

I know that the monument has significant meaning to many Christian Armenians, including myself. The meaning of the monument is to remember the day Armenians adopted Christianity.

I need assurances that this case was examined carefully. To my understanding, it definitely was not!

Angela Attaryan

North Hollywood

Thankful for a system that saved his life

I’m a company executive from Glendale whose life was saved by the Los Angeles County stroke response system.

I suffered a stroke last February while in Pasadena to pick up my wife from work. Witnesses called 911, the paramedics arrived shortly after, and in minutes I was treated at the nearest stroke center, Huntington Memorial Hospital.

If this happened a year ago, when the stroke system was not yet in place, I would have been taken to the closest facility, which may not have been equipped to treat me as successfully as the team led by Dr. Arbi Ohanian at the Huntington Stroke Center did. A consequence of lesser expert treatment could easily have meant dealing with disability, or worse — I may not be alive today.

As the L.A. County stroke system marks its first year this November, I congratulate the county Department of Public Health, the EMS agency and the American Stroke Assn. for working together to establish a countywide stroke system of care and, more importantly, for making stories like mine possible.

David Demont

Glendale