2 Men Indicted For Alleged Hate Crimes In Beverly Hills

BEVERLY HILLS, CA — A federal grand jury Tuesday indicted two men for allegedly assaulting and threatening five people at a Turkish restaurant in November.

Harutyun Harry Chalikyan, 23 of Tujunga, and William Stepanyan, 23 of Glendale, were charged with one count of conspiracy and five counts of committing hate crimes. Chalikyan was arrested Tuesday and pleaded not guilty at an arraignment, according to the U.S. attorney’s office for the Central District of California. Stepanyan is in state custody and is expected to appear in federal court in June. He was arrested in November for alleged involvement in the attack.

The attack occurred a few days after tens of thousands of protesters gathered outside the Turkish consulate in Beverly Hills in solidarity with Armenia in October, when Turkey supported neighboring Azerbaijan in a conflict over the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region. Both defendants are Armenian-American, according to prosecutors.

According to the indictment, Stepanyan sent text messages that he planned to go “hunting for [T]urks.” Soon after, he and Chalikyan attended a pro-Armenian rally in Glendale. After the rally, Stepanyan, Chalikyan, and about seven others drove to Cafe Istanbul, a Turkish restaurant near the intersection of Beverly Drive and Olympic Boulevard in Beverly Hills.

The indictment alleges that Stepanyan and Chalikyan attacked five people at the restaurant, including the Turkish owner and employees. The Beverly Hills Police Department has said that about five other people carried out the attack with them, but so far only Stepanyan and Chalikyan have been formally charged.

The indictment alleges that Stepanyan kicked over a plexiglass barrier and rushed toward three people near the back of the restaurant. Another defendant allegedly yelled, “We came to kill you! We will kill you!” The indictment also alleges that defendants threw at least one chair at victims, smashed glasses, and stole iPhones before fleeing.

Their attack resulted in at least $20,000 of damage and the injury of at least one victim, according to the indictment. The restaurant owners’ son told the Los Angeles Times that after the attack, anonymous callers threatened to burn down the restaurant.

If convicted, Stepanyan and Chalikyan face a maximum of 15 years in prison, according to prosecutors.

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