Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón has announced that two men are being charged with the murder of a man well-regarded in the Iranian American community for his role as manager of prolific artist Googoosh.
Robert Dehnoushi, 54, was shot dead in a strip mall parking lot near Arden and Pacific avenues in Glendale around 8 a.m. on Aug. 15, according to the DA’s office.
The two suspects – Jerry Tolentino and Arman Martinyan – allegedly followed Dehnoushi to a restaurant where the former opened fire and killed the 54-year-old promoter outside of his vehicle.
Witnesses told KTLA that the gunman was sitting on a motorcycle and waiting for Dehnoushi, a father of two who was well-known in the community, to arrive at the strip mall for an early morning meeting.
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A shooter remains at large after a man was found fatally shot at a Glendale strip mall on August 15, 2024. (KTLA) -
A shooter remains at large after a man was found fatally shot at a Glendale strip mall on August 15, 2024. He was found next to his white pickup truck. (KTLA) -
The victim was found lying on the ground next to his white pickup truck at a Glendale parking lot on August 15, 2024. (KTLA) -
The victim was found lying on the ground next to his white pickup truck at a Glendale parking lot on August 15, 2024. (KTLA)
Tolentino and Martinyan were arrested on Aug. 29 and each charged with one count of murder; Tolentino was also charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a felon stemming from a 2007 felony carjacking conviction in San Bernardino County.
“The charges also include the allegations that Tolentino personally used a handgun in the commission of the crime and that both Tolentino and Martinyan murdered Mr. Dehnoushi by means of lying-in-wait,” the district attorney’s office said in a release.
Both men are being held without bail and are scheduled to be arraigned on Sept. 20. If convicted as charged, Martinyan would face a maximum sentence of life in prison, while Tolentino would face a life sentence plus 15 years.