Glendale Police on Wednesday said they arrested a 28-year-old man in connection to a homicide after he barricaded himself in a La Crescenta house for more than six hours. Following the suspect’s surrender, police found the body of a 63-year-old man.
Officers responded to the 3300 block of Reta Street regarding an assault on Feb. 14, according to Glendale Police Department Sgt. Victor Jackson. Responding officers discovered evidence of an assault but were unable to locate the suspect and victim. As a precautionary measure, three schools were briefly placed on lockdown, Clark Magnet High School, Valley View and Dunsmore elementary schools.
Officers located the suspect at his mother’s house on Reta Street, Jackson said.
Neighbors, who asked not to be named, on Friday expressed shock and disbelief over the incident on the quaint, usually quiet, tree-lined street.
One neighbor confirmed that the suspect, 28-year-old Vahan Keshishyan, lived with his mother at her Reta Street home. The neighbor told the News-Press that there had been “multiple” previous incidents in which neighbors were concerned about Keshishyan’s behavior, adding that Keshishyan had an alleged history of mental health issues.
The victim was said to be a pool man at the suspect’s residence, two sources added. According to one neighbor, there were reports of Keshishyan seen Wednesday outside of his home wielding a machete.
Police did not respond to a News-Press request for comment by deadline on Friday.
Earlier in the week, police issued the statement: “The Glendale Police Department’s Crisis Negotiation Team and SWAT Team were deployed to the scene to initiate negotiations with the suspect. After several hours, the suspect surrendered to SWAT operators.”
Officers discovered a man dead at the scene, who was later identified by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner as 63-year-old Ordean Neva. Information was not available on Neva’s cause of death, nor on a possible relationship between the two men. Neva’s city of residence was not provided.
Keshishyan is currently in custody in connection with the slaying, and no further suspects are being pursued at this time, police said. Detectives and forensics personnel continue to process evidence at the scene on Reta Street.
The homicide investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with information on the case is urged to contact the Glendale Police Department at (818) 548-4911.
— City News Service contributed to this report.
First published in the February 16 print issue of the Glendale News-Press.
