Suspect sought in connection to armed robbery, double shooting in Burbank
Police are seeking help locating a 32-year-old murder suspect tied to a series of violent crimes throughout Los Angeles County over the last month, including a double shooting in a Burbank neighborhood that left a resident and a gardener working nearby injured.
Artyom Gasparyan, who is considered armed and dangerous, is wanted in connection with several serious crimes going back to Dec. 6, including a “road rage” shooting last week that claimed the life of a 37-year-old man.
The most recent incident — a carjacking followed by a police pursuit on Friday morning — led to the apprehension of Gasparyan’s alleged accomplice, Daniel Ramirez, who stabbed a man and shot the man’s two sons before shooting himself. Ramirez, 25, died in the hospital the following afternoon.
Gasparyan was named on Saturday as a suspect in the double shooting reported in a residential neighborhood in Burbank one morning last month.
Around 7:20 a.m. on Dec. 9, gardener Martin Hernandez was raking and picking up trash outside of a Burbank home on the 1700 block of Catalina Street where he’s worked for several years when he heard the sound of a gunshot a few houses down.
He later found out that a 67-year-old man was shot multiple times in his abdomen outside his home.
Shortly after, the shooter drove up next to Hernandez in a silver, four-door sedan and yelled out a profanity while brandishing his weapon.
When Hernandez saw the gun, he ran. That’s when the suspect fired one shot, striking Hernandez in his left foot.
Detectives were told that the gunman was playing music in his car before the shooting occurred and are investigating whether that was a factor in what followed.
The 67-year-old man remains hospitalized, while the gardener is recovering outside of the hospital.
The shooting sparked an outpouring of support from Burbank neighbors, police and strangers.
For Hernandez, his wife and four young children, neighbors raised more than $2,000 through an online crowdfunding campaign. Before Christmas, Burbank police invited the family to the station and gave them dozens of gifts, including bikes, games and stuffed animals, as well as cleaning supplies and grocery store gift cards.
Meanwhile, Gasparyan’s crime spree continued.
In connection with a Dec. 13 shooting, Gasparyan faces one count each of attempted murder and assault with a semi-automatic firearm, according to a Los Angeles County Superior Court felony complaint for arrest warrant.
Gasparyan, whose criminal convictions in Los Angeles County date back to 2005, is also suspected of fatally shooting a 37-year-old man last week in what was described by Los Angeles police as a possible “road rage” incident.
Around 7:20 p.m. on Wednesday, Los Angeles police responded to Van Nuys and Plummer Street, where they found the man near a car with a gunshot wound. The victim, a resident of Winnetka, was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
About two hours later, Gasparyan and Ramirez allegedly robbed a Shell gas station – located on the 100 block of West Alameda Avenue in Burbank – at gunpoint, according to Burbank Police Sgt. Claudio Losacco.
Two days after that, at around 9:40 a.m., the duo was spotted by an off-duty Los Angeles police officer who noticed a gray Volkswagen sedan driving erratically on the 105 Freeway near Crenshaw Boulevard, according to Los Angeles Police Officer Aareon Jefferson.
California Highway Patrol officers had been looking for the car, whose occupants were reportedly wanted for carjacking and robbery, Jefferson said.
When units responded, the car took off, leading police on a pursuit. The driver, believed to be Gasparyan, stopped at Normandie Avenue and 223rd Street, where a passenger, believed to be Ramirez, got out of the car armed with a handgun.
Ramirez then allegedly carjacked a nearby Dodge Durango after firing several rounds toward the driver, Jefferson said. The driver was not injured.
Officers pursued Ramirez in the Durango, but lost the Volkswagen, which was last seen entering the 110 Freeway through an off-ramp, driving in the wrong direction, Jefferson said.
The pursuit ended when Ramirez crashed the car at Wardlow Road and Main Avenue in Long Beach, and subsequently ran into a home on the 3300 block of Daisy Avenue, where he reportedly stabbed a man, shot the man’s two sons and then shot himself in the head, Jefferson said. A third son was able to escape out of the bathroom window.
One son remains in the hospital in stable condition, while the two other victims were treated and released.
Ramirez, meanwhile, was pronounced dead at a Long Beach hospital around 4:20 p.m. Saturday, according to Ed Winter, spokesman for the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.
Gasparyan was described as an Armenian man with black hair, brown eyes, 5 feet, 7 inches tall and roughly 170 pounds.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to contact Burbank police at (818) 238-3275 or Los Angeles police at (213) 486-6890. To remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.
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Alene Tchekmedyian, [email protected]
Twitter: @atchek
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