Two Glendale men charged in assaulting homeless man

Prosecutors charged two Glendale men on Friday for assaulting a homeless man, officials said.

Oganes Manvelyan, 23, and Vahan Kiourktzian, 22, each face one count of assault with deadly weapon in Wednesday’s attack of the homeless man, according to Jane Robison, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney. She said the alleged attack came for no apparent reason.

The pair initially claimed the homeless man began harassing them, but a police investigation revealed that was not true, Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.

They later told police that they were “young” and “didn’t know why they did it, but it was stupid,” Lorenz added.

The homeless man was sleeping at about 4:10 a.m. in the parking lot of Party Plaza in the 500 block of East Broadway when he was suddenly awakened after the two men dumped a large amount of water on him, according to Glendale police.

Standing 20 to 40 feet away, they reportedly threw a large rock at him and ran away.

But the two men returned minutes later and threw rocks at the homeless man again, police said.

The homeless man grew upset and ran after Manvelyan and Kiourktzian. That’s when the pair allegedly punched the man several times in the face and head and kicked him as laid on the ground, police said.

Manvelyan and Kiourktzian fled, but they were arrested soon after the incident. A witness called the police and reported the assault in progress.

The homeless man claimed Manvelyan and Kiourktzian harassed and attacked him 10 times in the past three months. The attacks, he told police, occurred late at night.

He told police that he wasn’t surprised by the attack and doesn’t know why they have continued assaulting him.

Manvelyan and Kiourktzian reportedly admitted to having previously attacked the man, police said.

Rocks used in the attack were recovered.

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