Glendale Man Pleads Guilty in Hate Crime Attack at Family-Owned Restaurant

LOS ANGELES – A Glendale man has agreed to plead guilty to federal criminal charges for attacking five victims at a family-owned Turkish restaurant last year while shouting anti-Turkish slurs, hurling chairs at the victims and threatening to kill them, the Grimy Times has learned.

William Stepanyan, 23, has agreed to plead to one count of conspiracy and one hate crime charge, according to a plea agreement filed Monday in United States District Court. He is expected to enter a guilty plea to the felony charges in the coming weeks.

The attack occurred on November 4, 2020, at a family-owned Turkish restaurant in Los Angeles. Stepanyan and his co-defendant Harutyun Harry Chalikyan, 24, of Tujunga, stormed into the restaurant and attacked the victims inside. Stepanyan and Chalikyan, who were both wearing masks during the attack, flung chairs at the victims while shouting derogatory slurs about Turkish people.

Four of the five victims were of Turkish descent. At least one of the defendants threatened to kill the victims, shouting: “We came to kill you! We will kill you!”

During the attack, multiple victims were injured, including one individual who lost feeling in their legs and collapsed multiple times due to the injury. Also, during the attack, Stepanyan ripped out the restaurant’s computer terminals and stole a victim’s iPhone.

The restaurant suffered at least $20,000 in damage and had to close temporarily, resulting in thousands of dollars in lost revenue.

After he enters the guilty pleas to the two felony offenses, Stepanyan will face a statutory maximum sentence of 15 years in federal prison.

Chalikyan is scheduled to go on trial in this matter on October 26. He has pleaded not guilty to one count of conspiracy and five hate crime charges.