After a video went viral last week showing a man crashing a wedding in Glendale and then taking off with a gift box containing about $60,000 in cash and checks, police were able to identify and arrest two men in connection to this brazen theft.
Armean Shirehjini was arrested Thursday at his home in Sherman Oaks, along with Andranik Avetisyan, who resides in Los Angeles, according to Glendale police detectives. Shirehjini is suspected of stealing the gift box, and Avetisyan was identified as the alleged getaway driver on the night of the wedding.
The theft took place just after midnight Aug. 31 at the Renaissance Banquet Hall in Glendale. Surveillance video from the venue shows a well-dressed man moving casually through the wedding reception while guests are on the dance floor. He appears at ease and even holds the door open for a few guests.
The suspected thief, who was an uninvited guest, went largely unnoticed until a bridesmaid saw him grab the box from the banquet hall and dash out through a side door.
“At that point, the music stopped, everyone was aware of the situation,” Nadeen Farahat, the bride, told KTLA-TV. “It’s such a memorable and happy day and you’re having so much fun. You don’t think about this stuff. It’s the last thing that could’ve been on anyone’s mind.”
George Farahat, the groom, told The Times that the man was clearly visible in surveillance recording, carrying the gift box to a black Mercedes-Benz SUV waiting in an alley outside the banquet hall. Other video had clear images of the man’s face during the wedding reception, which helped police identify and track down the suspects within five days of the wedding.
During the arrest last week, Shirehjini, the main suspect, was found to be in possession of a handgun, police said. Several firearms and various drugs were also seized, and “detectives are still processing a significant amount of evidence and will continue their work through the weekend,” according to a Glendale police report.
Glendale Police Sgt. Jose Barajas told ABC-7 that detectives were also able to recover 26 checks and about $10,000 in cash. (About $60,000 in cash, gift cards and checks had been stolen in total, according to estimates from the newly married couple.)
It remains unclear why the couple was targeted or whether the thieves had carried out a similar wedding-venue crime before.
Anyone with additional information related to this investigation is urged to contact Glendale Police Department burglary detectives at (818) 548-3127.
