Hit and Run Driver Receives Probation After Killing Pedestrian

By Mary O’KEEFE

Goar Davtyan, 67, of Glendale was sentenced on Oct. 19 for felony hit and run and felony vehicular manslaughter.

Davtyan was sentenced to three years formal, or federal, probation and 720 community service hours. The total restitution fees have not been determined, according to Ricardo Santiago, spokesman for the LA County DA’s office.

“A restitution hearing is scheduled for Jan. 19, [2018],” Santiago said.

Davtyan’s daughter Alina Davtyan was also charged with one felony count for filing a false insurance claim and accessory to a crime after the fact.

“She pled to the misdemeanor and was given three years of summary probation and 30 days of community service,” he said.

Her restitution hearing is also on Jan. 19.

Felony hit and run resulting in the death of someone can carry a sentence of up to 15 years; therefore the three-year sentencing of formal, or federal, probation seemed considerably less.

“It was a negotiated agreement,” Santiago said. “[According] to the what was said on the record at the time was the victim’s family had agreed to the negotiated plea.”

The hit and run occurred on April 16, 2016 at about 8 p.m. Glendale resident Martiros Arutyunyan, 81, was legally crossing Broadway Avenue at Belmont Street in Glendale when he was struck by a white sedan, according to Glendale Police Dept. statement.

Arutyunyan was transported to a local hospital where he later died due to the head injuries he sustained during the accident.

The driver of the vehicle, later identified as Goar Davtyan, fled the scene. An eyewitness gave GPD officers information concerning the fatal accident. Glendale traffic investigators arrested Davtyan on May 13, 2016. Her daughter was arrested at the same time.

Davtyan, mother and daughter, were charged on Sept. 20, and on Oct. 19 they were sentenced after their negotiated agreement.