Sugar House man convicted of murder after arrest in 2021
Oct 30, 2023, 2:49 PM | Updated: Oct 31, 2023, 7:15 am
SALT LAKE CITY — A Sugar House man was convicted of murder and several counts of aggravated kidnapping on Friday.
Levon Garo Meguerditchian was arrested in 2021 the morning after a party he held at his home. At approximately 3 a.m. on Aug. 28, 2021, police said some people stole a bottle of alcohol from the party and ran out of the home.
Police said the victim, Abdourazak Mouhoumed, 18, ran out of the home around the same time and left in his car. As he was driving away, Meguerditchian shot at him, hitting him in the head and causing Mouhoumed to crash.
Meguerditchian then forced people at the party into the home’s laundry room and police said he was threatening violence. Someone was able to make a 911 call, and police said they “did not initially find anything.” The officers then left the area.
According to Salt Lake County communications manager Keith Chalmers, the hostages were let go 20 minutes after police dismissed the scene.
Later, at around 6:30 a.m., someone called the police again saying they believed their friend was being held captive still at Meguerditchian’s house. Police responded to the call and found a 17-year-old girl in the garage with multiple injuries on her face.
Chalmers said Meguerditchian believed she had been the one to invite the people to the party who stole the bottle of liquor.
Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill made a statement after Meguerditchian was convicted:
The jury sent a strong message to Mr. Meguerditchian when they handed down this conviction. The amount of violence that we saw over a bottle of liquor was astounding. Sugar House is a safer community with Mr. Meguerditchian behind bars. We would like to thank our prosecutors on this case, John Ham and Brett Robinson, our victim advocate David Torres, and our support staff for their dedication to this devastating case.
Meguerditchian was convicted of first-degree felony murder, multiple counts of aggravated kidnapping, second-degree felony obstructing justice and third-degree felony discharge of a firearm.
His sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 10, 2024.
