Glendale man guilty of murder

Darleene Barrientos

A Glendale man was found guilty Friday of first-degree murder for

shooting his brother-in-law three times because he refused to help

him reconcile with his wife, the victim’s sister.

Hartune Nipiossian, 44, faces 50 years to life in prison when he

is sentenced May 7, Deputy Dist. Atty. Marian Thompson said.

Nipiossian, who was being held Friday on $2-million bail in Los

Angeles, was accused of shooting his brother-in-law, 38-year-old

Armen Blkahoyan, in April 2001.

“It’s very tragic,” Thompson said. “The victim in this case was a

man who came to the country a number of years before and was

supporting his family, supporting his parents, supporting his sister

and her two little girls. He was working and trying to make something

of his life.”

After two years of trying to reconcile with his wife, Nipiossian

got a gun and ammunition and waited for Blkahoyan at his home. He

lured Blkahoyan away and shot him in Blkahoyan’s car near the

intersection of Broadway and Belmont Street, Thompson said.

Nipiossian also shot himself in the wrist when Blkahoyan struggled

with him.

Nipiossian initially told police that a Hispanic man had tried to

rob them, Glendale Police Sgt. Ian Grimes said. Investigators found

that Blkahoyan was shot at point-blank range, rather than through the

car’s door, disproving Nipiossian’s story.

Psychiatrists testifying for the defense and prosecution found

that Nipiossian was mentally ill, but the prosecutors believed he was

still capable of premeditating the crime.