Sassounian

People v. Sassounian

Good Law

182 Cal. App. 3d 361·1986 Cal. App. LEXIS 1714·226 Cal. Rptr. 880

Court of Appeal of CaliforniaMay 30, 1986B005918California28,029 words

Opinion

Croskey, J.

The defendant and appellant Harry M. Sassounian (herein the defendant), appeals from the judgment imposing upon him a sentence of life imprisonment without possibility of parole following a jury trial in which he was found guilty of murder in the first degree (Pen. Code, § 187), with a true finding of the special circumstance that the killing was because of the victim’s nationality or country of origin. (Pen. Code, § 190.2, subd. (a)(16).)

Factual Background

On the last morning of his life, Kemal Arikan (herein Arikan), the Consul General of the Republic of Turkey at Los Angeles, left his home in the Westwood area of Los Angeles to go to work, unaware that two armed men waited two blocks away to kill him for no other reason than he was who he was (i.e., a Turk, and an official representative of the government of Turkey). It was 9:40 a.m., January 28,1982. He drove his usual route, east on Ashton Avenue to Comstock Street and north on Comstock with the intention of turning right on Wilshire Boulevard. He never made it.

The evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the judgment (People v. Brock (1985) 38 Cal.3d 180, 198 [ 211 Cal.Rptr. 122 , 695 P.2d 209 ]; People…

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Parties

The PEOPLE
Plaintiff
HARRY M. SASSOUNIAN
Defendant

Judges

Croskey
Johnson

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