Details on the Case of Zvchvch Aro's Son, who Claimed the Lives of Two Police Officers in an Accident

The trial of Sargsyan Vardanyan, the son of Zvchvch Aro, continued at the Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction located in the Nor Nork administrative district, presided over by Harutyun Manukyan. Sargsyan Vardanyan is accused of a fatal accident involving two officers of the Road Police and leaving the scene of the accident under Articles 242 (part 3) and 244 of the RA Criminal Code. According to the indictment, on the night of January 8, 2018, around 4:40 AM, while driving the entrusted 'BMW X6' vehicle without a driving license, Sargsyan Vardanyan drove with two passengers along Abovyan Street from the direction of Moscow Street towards Sayat Nova Avenue.

As reported by 1in.am, it is mentioned that Sargsyan Vardanyan exceeded the permitted maximum speed of 60 km/h by almost double, driving at a speed of 113 km/h, creating an emergency situation that led to a collision with a Toyota vehicle, which was at a red light at the intersection, driven by Senior Lieutenant Areg Davtyan. After colliding with the Toyota, Sargsyan Vardanyan's vehicle also struck an advertising billboard, damaging it, and then came to a stop. Sargsyan Vardanyan left the scene and fled. Police officers Areg Davtyan and Khachik Gasparyan died as a result of the accident. Shortly after the accident, a 44-year-old man named Suren M. approached the 'Nairi' medical center, claiming he suffered injuries as a participant in the accident involving the 'BMW X6' that resulted in the death of the police officers. It was soon revealed that he made a false report, taking responsibility for the accident onto himself. On the same day, Sargsyan Vardanyan was arrested. The 'BMW' he drove was found to have both Russian and Armenian license plates. Sargsyan Vardanyan is currently in custody.

The accused Sargsyan Vardanyan did not plead guilty to the accident. He stated that if he was at fault, he would be willing to take responsibility, but he does not consider himself guilty. His interests are represented by lawyer Hakob Martirosyan. The legal successors of the victims have filed complaints against Sargsyan Vardanyan, insisting he be held accountable and face the harshest punishment. The representative for the legal successor of the victim Areg Davtyan is lawyer Ruben Baloyan, while the representative for the legal successor of victim Khachik Gasparyan is lawyer Zarouhi Vardanyan. During the preliminary investigation, criminal proceedings against Areg Davtyan, who was behind the wheel of the police Toyota at the time of the incident and entered the intersection on a red light, were terminated due to his death.

During a previous hearing, the defense attorney H. Martirosyan had requested materials regarding the authorization of wiretapping phone calls to be provided to the defense. The court, after hearing the parties, rejected the request, noting that a similar request had already been made by the defendant’s former attorney, S. Jahinyan, which the court had previously decided on and the appellate court had also made a determination regarding it. The recordings of the wiretapped phone conversations were disclosed in a closed session due to the abundance of insults in those conversations. Previously, the minutes of the disclosure of those wiretapped phone conversations had been published in an open session.

In particular, a conversation was published between Sargsyan Vardanyan and Suren M. in which Sargsyan suggested that Suren take the blame for the accident: ‘Sargsyan: “Brother, can I ask you something?” Suren: “Yes, why not?” Sargsyan: “I’ve got your back; I won't abandon you, I swear to God!” Suren: “I’ll just say that I felt bad, nothing more…” But it was soon discovered that Suren’s appearance as a ‘volunteer’ was fake, and after he was released, Suren called Sargsyan's brother Serj and said: ‘Suren: “The cameras caught everything… At the Abovyan intersection… They showed this to them, they said, ‘where are you?’ They didn’t see me…”’ The wiretapped recordings of phone conversations were again brought to the court’s attention by the defense attorney H. Martirosyan, requesting the court to demand all documents related to the monitoring of Sargsyan Vardanyan's incoming and outgoing calls.