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SoCal men who attacked Turkish restaurant in Beverly Hills get federal prison sentences

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Two males from Los Angeles County have been sentenced to federal jail after they pleaded responsible to assaulting 5 folks at a family-owned Turkish restaurant in Beverly Hills in 2020.

The lads, 23-year-old William Stepanyan of Glendale and 24-year-old Harutyun Harry Chalikyan of Tujunga, pleaded responsible in October to throwing chairs, shouting ethnic slurs and threatening to kill folks on the restaurant on Nov. 4, 2020.

The assault got here whereas “long-simmering tensions in Turkish and Armenian communities escalated” in the course of the conflict between Armenia and Turkey-backed Azerbaijan, the U.S. Division of Justice stated in a information launch.

“Earlier that day, Stepanyan despatched a textual content message saying that he deliberate to go ‘attempting to find [T]urks.’ … Upon arriving on the restaurant, Stepanyan and Chalikyan stormed inside, threw exhausting wood chairs on the victims, smashed glassware, destroyed a plexiglass barrier, and overturned tables. One of many defendants requested the victims, ‘Are you Turkish?’ and shouted, ‘We got here to kill you!  We’ll kill you!,’” the discharge stated.

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Given the motivations of Chalikyan and Stepanyan, they pleaded responsible to a cost of committing a hate crime, in addition to a depend of conspiracy, the DOJ stated. Stepanyan was sentenced to 5 years in jail, whereas Chalikyan obtained a 15-month sentence.

They will even pay $21,200 in restitution for the assault, which damage three folks, together with one who misplaced feeling of their legs and collapses a number of occasions on account of the harm.

“Additionally, in the course of the assault, Stepanyan ripped out the restaurant’s pc terminals and stole a sufferer’s iPhone,” totaling at the very least $20,000 in harm, the discharge stated.

“These defendants have been pushed by hate, and their actions have been deplorable,” United States Lawyer Tracy L. Wilkison stated within the launch. “The bodily accidents and emotional trauma to the victims can’t be understated. We hope that the sentences handed down in the present day will assist vindicate these harms.”

“The victims on this case have been brutally attacked by the defendants who trampled their civil rights and certain brought on lasting psychological ache for nothing greater than the notion of the place they have been born,” added Kristi Johnson, the assistant director in control of the FBI’s Los Angeles Subject Workplace, within the launch. “The FBI is dedicated to investigating civil rights violations and holding accountable people who commit violent acts motivated by hate.”

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Los Angeles, Ca

Driver killed in crash involving San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy

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Driver killed in crash involving San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy

Authorities are investigating after a driver died in a crash involving a deputy in San Bernardino County Saturday.

At around 4 p.m., a deputy from the Apple Valley Police Department responded to a service call while activating emergency lights and sirens.

The deputy was driving westbound on Bear Valley Road. That’s when a driver in a Toyota Corolla, who was turning left into a parking lot, collided with the deputy, officials said.

  • A male driver died while colliding with a deputy in Apple Valley on June 29, 2024. (Inland News)
  • A male driver died while colliding with a deputy in Apple Valley on June 29, 2024. (Inland News)
  • Authorities are investigating a male driver died while colliding with a deputy in Apple Valley on June 29, 2024. (Inland News)
  • Authorities are investigating a male driver died while colliding with a deputy in Apple Valley on June 29, 2024. (Inland News)
  • Authorities are investigating a male driver died while colliding with a deputy in Apple Valley on June 29, 2024. (Inland News)
  • Authorities are investigating a male driver died while colliding with a deputy in Apple Valley on June 29, 2024. (Inland News)
  • Authorities are investigating a male driver died while colliding with a deputy in Apple Valley on June 29, 2024. (Inland News)
  • Authorities are investigating a male driver died while colliding with a deputy in Apple Valley on June 29, 2024. (Inland News)
  • Authorities are investigating a male driver died while colliding with a deputy in Apple Valley on June 29, 2024. (Inland News)
  • Authorities are investigating a male driver died while colliding with a deputy in Apple Valley on June 29, 2024. (Inland News)

The collision killed the Toyota driver on impact and left the deputy with minor injuries.

Video from the scene showed both vehicles were left with severe front-end damage. Bystanders were seen surrounding the crash site which was bordered by shopping plazas on both sides.

The Toyota driver was only identified as a male. His name was not released. The injured deputy was transported to the hospital for treatment.

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Bear Valley Road was closed to traffic between Kiowa Road and Snapping Turtle for several hours while authorities worked to clear the debris.

The deadly crash remains under investigation.

Anyone with additional information can contact the Apple Valley Police Department at 760-240-7400 or Sheriff’s Dispatch at 760-956-5001.

Anonymous tips can be provided to We-Tip at 1-800-782-7463 or online at wetip.com.

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Los Angeles, Ca

Man arrested for having 17 guns after pistol-whipping neighbor 

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Man arrested for having 17 guns after pistol-whipping neighbor 

A convicted felon was arrested after pistol-whipping his neighbor and being found in possession of 17 firearms. 

According to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, the victim – whose identity has not been released – was riding his dirt bike in front of his residence in the 20100 block of Piedmont Drive in Apple Valley just before 8:45 p.m. on Thursday when he was flagged down by his neighbor. 

The neighbor, identified by deputies as 42-year-old Kenny Lattinville, allegedly pulled out a handgun and pistol-whipped the victim, who left his dirt bike in the roadway and ran back to his home to call 911. 

He sustained “a visible injury consistent with the assault,” SBSD said. 

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Responding deputies quickly contacted Lattinville, who was said to be standing in his front yard with a rifle and a handgun yelling towards the victim’s residence, and were able to arrest him without any further incident. 

“A search warrant was authored for Lattinville’s residence…inside the residence, deputies located and seized 17 firearms,” law enforcement officials stated. 

Lattinville, a convicted felon, was booked into the High Desert Detention Center for assault with a firearm and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He is being held in lieu of $140,000 bail. 

Anyone who may have information regarding the incident is asked to contact Victor Valley Sheriff’s Station Detective S. Bowman by calling 760-552-6800. 

To submit information anonymously, call 1-800-782-7463 or visit www.wetip.com  

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Los Angeles, Ca

Downtown Los Angeles street takeover ends in inferno 

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Downtown Los Angeles street takeover ends in inferno 

Video shows a wild street takeover in downtown Los Angeles coming to a fiery conclusion overnight. 

Preliminary information from stringer service OnSceneTV indicates the takeover occurred at the intersection of 18th and Main streets before 3 a.m. Saturday. 

A Log Angeles Police Department spokesperson confirmed the location and stated that upwards of 50 cars were present.

Officers were originally dispatched on calls of fireworks being lit, the spokesperson added.

The sideshow, which was attended by hundreds of people, ended with two vehicles ablaze in the middle of the intersection; it was not immediately clear if they were deliberately set on fire or if they caught fire due to another source. 

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Traffic was seen maneuvering around the inferno and while some motorists honked their horns, others seemed to drive by as if all were normal. 

Los Angeles Fire Department crews attempting to extinguish the flames were hampered by the crowds and vehicles, who blocked their access to the burning vehicles, but they were eventually able to put the fire out within ten minutes. 

No arrests were made, LAPD said. What was left of both cars was impounded.

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