PASADENA -- A 23-year-old man pleaded no contest Thursday to vehicular manslaughter in connection with a July 2007 hit-and-run crash in Glendale in which a woman was killed.
Ara Grigoryan, of Glendale, also admitted the allegation of fleeing the scene of the July 10, 2007, crash after his black Mercedes-Benz struck Elizabeth Sandoval, 24, as she walked on Glendale Avenue near Windsor Road.
Pasadena Superior Court Judge Janice Croft immediately sentenced Grigoryan to 11 years in state prison following his plea, according to Deputy District Attorney Casey Higgins.
Broken parts from the 2003 Mercedes-Benz S430 were found at the scene of the crash, and police tracked down the car with the help of GPS technology incorporated in the car, Glendale police said soon after the crash.
The Mercedes-Benz, which had obvious signs of fresh bodywork done to the front-end portion of the vehicle, was found on a Van Nuys street, according to Glendale police.
Grigoryan was arrested at the airport in Mexico City after arriving on an Aeromexico flight from Tijuana. He was brought back to Los Angeles County and booked by Glendale police eight days after the crash.
He has remained jailed since then.
As a result of his plea, a second-degree murder charge was dismissed against Grigoryan, according to the District Attorney's Office.
