Burbank police held a press conference Wednesday morning to announce an arrest in an accident which killed a Burbank man last year.
On December 9, 2016, at around 5:40 PM, 52-year-old Rodolfo Tan, a resident of Burbank, was struck by a minivan which had driven up onto the sidewalk near the intersection of Olive Avenue and San Fernando Boulevard. Tan, who was trapped under the vehicle, was rushed to a local hospital where he died as a result of his injuries.
Police on scene learned that the driver of the minivan, a 33-year-old Glendale man, was stabbed in the chest prior to the collision and had lost control of his vehicle. The stabbing victim underwent emergency surgery and survived the attack.
Burbank Police Detectives discovered that an altercation and stabbing preceding the collision took place on Palm Avenue between Glenoaks Boulevard and Third Street, adjacent to the Burbank Police Department. Detectives located surveillance video showing the attack, the suspect, and the suspect’s vehicle. The ensuing investigation led Detectives to identify the suspect as Haroution Stepanyan, a 24 year-old man who resides in Glendale.
On March 6, 2017, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office filed criminal charges against Stepanyan of one count of murder, for the death of Rodolfo Tan, and one count of attempted murder, for the stabbing of the minivan’s driver. A warrant was obtained for Stepanyan’s arrest.
On March 7, 2017, members of the San Gabriel Valley AB109 Task Force as well as the United States Marshals Fugitive Task Force had information that Stepanyan was at a restaurant in the Glendale.
Officers established a surveillance of the location, and within a relatively short period of time, contacted Stepanyan and placed him under arrest.
Stepanyan is being held in-lieu of $3,075,000 bail and is due in court today.
