Local accused of hit-and-run pleads innocent

Costa Mesa man is accused of running down a pedestrian, whose condition is critical, last week.The Costa Mesa man accused of intentionally hitting another man with his car in an Aliso Viejo shopping center pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Orange County Superior Court, officials said.

Police say Morteza Bakhtiari, 26, was the driver of a silver BMW that struck a pedestrian in the parking lot of the Aliso Viejo Town Center late Thursday.

John Royston, 41, was walking through the parking lot when he saw the car driving too fast and either said something or waved for the driver to slow down. The driver of the BMW passed Royston, then made a U-turn and ran him over, police said.

“He [Royston] was trying to keep his community safe by telling the defendant to slow down.... He’s paying for it with his health,” said Susan Schroeder, spokeswoman for the Orange County district attorney’s office.

Royston remained in “extremely critical” condition in a medically induced coma at Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo late Tuesday, said Orange County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Jim Amormino.

Bakhtiari on Friday attempted to report his vehicle stolen Costa Mesa police. The 1999 Silver BMW 323i is registered to Bakhtiari, police said.

He has been charged with attempted murder, felony hit-and-run with bodily injury, and filing a false police report. He is also accused of hitting a parked Mercedes-Benz in the same parking lot.

If convicted of all charges, the maximum sentence is life with the possibility of parole, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Scott Simmons.

Bakhtiari’s lawyer, high-profile defense attorney Joseph Cavallo, said Tuesday that his client did not purposely run down Royston.

“He absolutely wouldn’t do that; he’s not that type of person,” Cavallo said.

Bakhtiari had hit a Mercedes in the parking lot and turned around to inspect the damage. That’s when a group of five to six men threatened Bakhtiari’s life and would not get out of his way, Cavallo said.

The men “threw a Pepsi all over the side of the vehicle,” hitting the passenger and the driver of the BMW, Cavallo said.

“They placed him in a position of fear where he had to get out of there,” Cavallo said.

Simmons said there are no other reports that Royston threatened Bakhtiari.