Alleged Armenian Gang Members Charged In Craigslist Robbery

ALLEGED ARMENIAN GANG MEMBERS CHARGED IN CRAIGSLIST ROBBERY

CBS Local
Aug 6 2013

August 6, 2013 12:15 PM

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) – Two San Fernando Valley men faced robbery
charges Tuesday after they allegedly held a man at gunpoint and stole
an iPhone during a meeting set up through Craigslist.

Levon Iskandaryan, 23, and Mambreh Khachian, 33, were arrested after
meeting up with a Panorama City man who advertised computer equipment
for sale on Craigslist, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Iskandaryan and Khachian showed up with a third suspect at a McDonald’s
restaurant at 9107 Van Nuys Blvd. around 8 p.m. on Aug. 3 and made
contact with the victim in the parking lot, police said.

When Iskandaryan saw the seller was holding an iPhone 5, he allegedly
coerced the man to a nearby vehicle by claiming the rear passenger
was pointing a gun at him, according to police.

The victim followed Iskandaryan to a gray Toyota Solara, where Khachian
was holding a gun and a third man was seated in the driver’s seat,
police said. Iskandaryan then grabbed the phone from the victim,
and the two engaged in a brief struggle.

When the victim lost his grip on the phone, the car door shut,
but caught his clothing and dragged him for several feet as the car
sped away, tearing his clothes and scraping and burning his skin,
according to police.

Detectives pinged the phone and traced the signal to a house in the
7900 block of Hillrose Street in Sunland.

Officers went to the residence and spotted the gray Toyota, but waited
until Khachian left the house in the vehicle around midnight to detain
him, according to police.

Officers conducted a search of the house, where police say Iskandaryan
lived with his parents, and found Iskandaryan inside. Since he was
on probation for other crimes, officers were able to search the house
without a warrant, but did not find any iPhone.

Police say before their arrests, Iskandaryan and Khachian went back to
Craigslist and contacted a person who listed a want ad for an iPhone
5. They later met the potential buyer at a Starbucks in Glendale and
sold the stolen iPhone for $350.

“There’s nothing new from this angle of crooks targeting sellers for
robbery, but it’s what they did afterward to sell the stolen phone
that surprised us,” said Lt. Paul Vernon, commanding officer of the
Mission Detective Division.

Police say both men were documented members of AP, or Armenian Power,
a local street gang. Neither Khachian and Iskandaryan would provide
police with the name of the third man, who was driving the car.

The man, described as Armenian with a chrome bracelet and green eyes,
was allegedly dropped off in North Hollywood after the robbery,
but before the phone was fenced, according to police.

Iskandaryan and Khachian were booked for armed robbery and their
bails were each set at $125,000.

Police hope that by publicizing this case, the unwitting buyer will
come forward and surrender the iPhone so detectives don’t have to
track it down. They also believe there may be additional victims and
unwitting buyers linked to the suspects.

Anyone with information about the suspects or the case was urged
to call Mission Robbery detectives, at (213)838-9898 or visit
LAPDOnline.org.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress