Trial Postponed in Smashing of Crashed Car’s Windshield

The trial of a La Canada Flintridge man charged with using a pool cue to smash the windshield of an already-demolished car was postponed Wednesday after the judge urged the defendant not to act as his own attorney.

Ara Aprahamian, a 48-year-old real estate broker, was ordered to return to Glendale Municipal Court on July 3 for his trial.

On Wednesday, just as his trial was to begin, Aprahamian told Judge Joseph F. De Vanon that he had dismissed his attorney. The defendant tried to present evidence in the case and asked the judge to dismiss the charges. De Vanon refused and said Aprahamian would probably be convicted if he continued to represent himself.

Aprahamian broke the windshield of a 1990 Saab after a high-speed chase Feb. 9 that ended when the Saab crashed into a light pole. Aprahamian believed the driver, Patrick Glen Johnston, 22, of Newport Beach, had committed a string of vandalism incidents at Aprahamian’s house.

After pleading no contest to a lesser charge, Johnston was ordered to pay a fine and spend one year on probation. Aprahamian has refused to accept a similar plea agreement, which the district attorney’s office proposed as a way to end a feud between Aprahamian and Johnston.