Bheri Werntz and his family were sleeping when the silver Volkswagen Jetta slid into their Burbank driveway, its electronic dance music pulsating so loudly in the early morning that it woke them up. Werntz peered outside. Weston Werntz said he locked eyes with the gunman before the Jetta sped down the street. The Dec. Police launched an around-the-clock search that ended when detectives shot and wounded Gasparyan after a wrong-way chase on the 5 Freeway in early January.
Detectives have since widened their investigation into Gasparyan, linking him to at least one other homicide case, according to court records. A definitive moment, Hayes said, came when police chased Gasparyan and his alleged accomplice into the Harbor Gateway neighborhood of Los Angeles. The accomplice, year-old Daniel Ramirez, hopped out of their car, shooting at another motorist before stealing his SUV.
Gasparyan managed to flee. Police worried the violence would only escalate the longer Gasparyan was on the loose. Gasparyan pleaded not guilty in May to more than two dozen charges. His public defender has declined to comment on the case. Authorities have not given a motive for the violent acts Gasparyan is accused of, but court records offer a few warning signs. In May , Gasparyan was sentenced to a year in jail for stalking his then-girlfriend.
The woman reported she was afraid of Gasparyan, saying he followed her while driving, threatened her parents and hit her, court records show. At a court hearing in September , Gasparyan pleaded no contest to charges of burglary and receiving stolen property, court records show.
The admission was part of a plea deal with prosecutors, who agreed that Gasparyan would be released from jail but could be sentenced to five years behind bars if he violated his probation during the next several years. But, according to an e-mail obtained by The Times, prosecutors made the agreement after concluding that his prior convictions, including the stalking case, did not show an inclination toward violence.
