INSIDE
Westside Travel Series
2024
May 2024
Century City/ Westwood
NEWS
CenturyCity-WestwoodNews.com
San Gabriel Valley Man Sentenced to 20 Years for Murder-For-Hire Plot Against Brentwood Resident arson, attempted arson, and arson of a Arthur Raffy building used in interstate commerce. “This defendant thought he could get Aslanian found away with murder by financing a murder plot against two of his rivals,” said United guilty in federal States Attorney Martin Estrada. “He will serve a well-deserved lengthy prison court; co-conspirator now sentence. This case should serve as a cautionary tale to those who would resort faces sentencing to violence to settle their disputes: You A man from the San Gabriel Valley received a federal prison sentence of 240 months today for orchestrating murderfor-hire plots and attempting to burn down a North Hollywood apartment complex he owned. Arthur Raffy Aslanian, 55, of La Cañada Flintridge, faced sentencing by United States District Judge Jesus G. Bernal, who additionally ordered Aslanian to pay $15,371 in restitution and fined him $200,000. Following a five-day trial in July 2023, a jury found Aslanian guilty on multiple charges including the use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit
will be caught and the consequences will be severe.” Aslanian conspired with Sesar Rivera, 41, of North Hollywood, to hire a hitman to murder two individuals identified in court documents as “M.Y.” and “S.E.” M.Y. was Aslanian’s former lawyer who represented him in a bankruptcy proceeding, while S.E. was a litigant who defeated Aslanian in court after Aslanian tried to take possession of the Brentwood home in which S.E.’s parents lived. Rivera, who was Aslanian’s employee at the time, facilitated meetings between Aslanian and a convicted felon, where plans for the murders were discussed. Law enforcement intervened before the
murders could take place, warning the intended victims and detaining Rivera for questioning. Aslanian was arrested shortly after being shown a staged murder photograph of S.E. In a separate incident, Aslanian paid an individual to set fire to a rental property he owned in North Hollywood, aiming to force low-income tenants out of the building. Rivera pleaded guilty in March 2023
to charges related to his involvement in the murder-for-hire plots and faces sentencing in July. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) conducted the investigation, with assistance from Assistant United States Attorneys Kevin J. Butler, Kevin B. Reidy, and Eli A. Alcaraz prosecuting the case.
UCLA Police Make First Arrest in Attack on Palestine Solidarity Encampment 18-year-old Charged With Assault with a Deadly Weapon; Bail Set at $30,000
After three weeks, the University of California Police Department at UCLA apparently made the first arrest of one of the group of pro-Israeli men who viciously attacked the UCLA students, faculty members, and journalists at the UCLA Palestine Solidarity Encampment. The members of the encampment were left to their own devices during the four-hour attack on April 30 and May 1 and defended themselves successfully without any aid from private UCLA security, UC Police on campus, or the UCLA administration. According to multiple sources, including
Beckner stated on social media that the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department had informed him that On was suspected of committing the assault with the intention of “great bodily injury.” He is being held on $30,000 bail and he is scheduled for his first court hearing on May 28. CNN reporters including Kyung Lah were able to verify Edan On’s actions at CNN’s Kyung Lah, and Sean BecknerCarmichael, an independent journalist, 18-year-old Edan On, who was caught on video by livestream reporters during the attack allegedly committing multiple assaults, was arrested on Thursday morning. On was one of several assailants who were identified and named by independent journalists and CNN, in their investigative report. Until Thursday, not one assailant had been arrested. Edan On has been charged with 245 PC assault with a deadly weapon. Carmichael-
UCLA because his mother wrote Facebook posts praising her son for being part of the attack. She later attempted to deny that her son was at UCLA at all. A report from the Beverly Hills Courier states, while withholding his name, that Edan On is a student at Beverly Hills High.
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