Hearing for man charged with fatally shooting cousin postponed

Nov. 17, 2011 12 AM PT

The preliminary hearing for a 27-year-old Tujunga man charged with fatally shooting his cousin and dumping her body on the Foothill (210) Freeway was postponed Thursday.

The hearing for Aram Sarukhanyan was rescheduled for Jan. 12 in the Los Angeles County Superior Court in Pasadena.

Sarukhanyan is charged with one count of murder for shooting his cousin, Adrine Arzumanyan, at least once in chest on April 29 before she was pushed from the car and on to the freeway, officials said.

He also faces a felony count of brandishing a firearm at a civilian who attempted to stop him after he allegedly dumped Arzumanyan’s body on the La Crescenta Avenue offramp, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

Moments later, Sarukhanyan shot himself in the chin after police confronted him, officials said. He was treated at a hospital and released to police custody.

Sarukhanyan remain in custody in lieu of roughly $2-million bail.

-- Veronica Rocha, Times Community News

Twitter: @VeronicaRochaLA