19-year-old charged with murder after Beverly Hills alley fight turns into deadly stabbing
A 19-year-old man who was arrested after a fight between two men in a Beverly Hills alley turned into a deadly stabbing over the weekend has been charged with murder.
It happened at around 11:40 p.m. in an alley in the 400 block of N. Palm Drive, just south of Beverly Boulevard, where officers said they were called for reports of an altercation, a news release from the Beverly Hills Police Department said.
Arriving officers found a man "suffering from a neck wound." He was treated at the scene and taken to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, the news release said. He has since been identified as 40-year-old Vanik Voskanyan.
Police told CBS LA on Monday that one of the two men involved in the fight produced a knife and a stabbing occurred.
The other man, 19-year-old Conoray Lawantara, was also hospitalized for injuries sustained during the incident.
Late Monday, police said that they arrested Lawantara on suspicion of murder based on evidence detectives discovered during their investigation into what led up to the fight.
"His arraignment date will be determined at a later time ... as he remains in the hospital due to an injury," police said.
Police said they believe the incident is isolated and that there was no one else involved.
"Our detectives are conducting a thorough and diligent investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding this tragic incident," said a statement from Beverly Hills Chief of Police Max Subin.
Neighbors told CBS LA that the victim, who they believe was homeless, was looking through some trash cans in the alley when Lawantara confronted him and then stabbed him multiple times.
"It's odd when he's the one following the unhoused person," one neighbor said. "I don't think there's anything wrong with a person going through things. If you have a problem, call the cops. You don't have to go after them with a knife."
They say that surveillance camera footage from the apartment complex adjacent to the alley shows that he is the aggressor, and that the victim was minding his own business.
On Wednesday, Beverly Hills PD officials said that Lawantara was charged with murder and due in court on Thursday. He remains behind bars in lieu of $2 million bail.
Anyone who knows more was asked to contact BHPD at 310-285-2125.
