New Details Revealed About the Murders in Vanadzor

On February 9, the bodies of Agasi Hovhannisyan and Gevorg Sukiasyan, both residents of Vanadzor and aged 30, were transported to the Vanadzor Medical Center with gunshot wounds. Along with them, three friends from the Lori region were also admitted to the hospital, sustaining gunshot injuries that were not life-threatening.

A criminal case was initiated by the territorial investigative department regarding the particularly serious crime. Operative-search measures revealed that the men were shot on Hambardzumyan Street in Vanadzor. At the crime scene, law enforcement discovered blood-like traces, bullets, and signs of gunfire on walls and vehicles.

Investigators from the Criminal Police also joined the disclosure efforts in Vanadzor. Through joint operational work, police determined that the shots had been fired from the cabin of a white "Niva" around 6 PM on February 9. Minutes after the incident, another alarm was raised at the Bazum Police Department, reporting that a vehicle was on fire on Barekamutyun Street in Vanadzor.

After extinguishing the fire, police discovered a burnt-sawed-off Kalashnikov rifle with a factory number and 31 fired cartridges, five of which were deformed, alongside empty magazines, one of which was also burnt in the cabin of the white "Niva." It was hypothesized that the shots at the men were fired from this vehicle, which the perpetrator or perpetrators later set on fire a few streets away to destroy evidence.

Comprehensive forensic examinations were ordered. Before the completion of these investigations, police began to identify the owner of the burnt vehicle. It was soon discovered that the vehicle’s license plates were stolen, and the vehicle was registered under the name of a 56-year-old resident of the Odzun community in Lori. This man had sold the car to an unknown buyer on February 3. The buyer assured that the vehicle would be re-registered in a few days and disconnected his phone number. The day of the sale, the car was taken in an unknown direction from Odzun, and hours before the incident, it was moved to the backyard of one of the houses on Lalvari Street in Vanadzor.

It was determined that on February 9, they had driven the "Niva" from Lalvari Street to Hambardzumyan Street, fired shots from the cabin at the men, then fled the scene in the same vehicle and burned it. Through operational-search measures, information was obtained that Agasi Hovhannisyan had a hostile relationship with a 40-year-old man residing on Abovyan Street in Vanadzor, recognized as an authority in criminal circles.

Let’s look back at certain incidents. On August 12, 2018, in the "Artificial Lakes" café in Vanadzor, this 40-year-old man shot at Agasi Hovhannisyan's friend with a hunting rifle, causing a serious gunshot injury that required hospitalization. Detectives found not only the weapon, classified as the instrument of the crime, but also arrested the 40-year-old man, who was later released by an appellate court.

Furthermore, on February 9, 2020, Agasi Hovhannisyan had previously killed a close associate of the same 40-year-old authority in the criminal underworld with a firearm on January 15, 2019, in Spitak. This crime had also been solved with fresh traces.

Returning to the present, through complex operational and investigative measures, it was established that months before Agasi Hovhannisyan’s murder, specifically in November-December 2019, the father of the aforementioned 40-year-old man had organized preparations for the murder of Agasi Hovhannisyan and his friends. According to evidence gathered during the investigation, this 64-year-old man illegally acquired and possessed a firearm and ammunition, which he handed over to a 28-year-old acquaintance to carry out the murder, although their plans were thwarted.

After being detained, the 64-year-old man was presented to the prosecutorial authority, initially detained and later imprisoned in April of this year. Evidence was gathered indicating that the 40-year-old authority had fired at Agasi Hovhannisyan and his friends using a firearm illegally held at their residence on February 9, resulting in lethal injuries to Hovhannisyan and one of his friends.

Additionally, evidence revealed that in the "Niva" vehicle, besides the 40-year-old man, were his 56 and 19-year-old friends, who were also wanted for serious crimes. Before police officers and investigative committee members could establish facts relating to the trio and the shots fired on February 9 in Vanadzor, they had been detained and arrested under other criminal cases related to offenses against human life, health, and property.

On March 28, a special operation was conducted on Abovyan Street in Vanadzor involving personnel from the Lori Regional Department and affiliated divisions, along with officers from the Criminal Police’s special forces. Thanks to the professional actions of law enforcement, the operation was successfully concluded.

The criminal trio, consisting of the 40, 56, and 19-year-old men, were discovered in a hideout established at the home of the 40-year-old associate of the criminal circles. During the search of the area, a factory-numbered "Makarov" pistol with 8 loaded cartridges, hand grenades, and more than 80 grams of substances resembling marijuana were seized. All findings were confiscated. The operational-search measures and investigative actions continue within the framework of the initiated criminal cases.