Conviction for Murder over Stolen Bottle of Liquor

 

Late last week, a Third District Court jury convicted Levon Garo Meguerditchian for the murder of Abdourazak Mouhoumed and the kidnapping of several partygoers at Mr. Meguerditchian’s Sugar House home.

 

On August 28, 2021, Mr. Meguerditchian had a party at his home. At around 3:00 a.m. some people at the party stole a bottle of alcohol and ran out of the home. Mr. Mouhoumed ran out of the house at the same time and left in his car. As Mr. Mouhoumed drove away, Mr. Meguerditchian shot at him, and the bullet hit him in the head, causing him to crash his car. People at the party were then forced into the home’s laundry room and threatened with violence as police responded to the 911 call to look for evidence of the shooting. Police did not initially find anything and most of the hostages were let go 20 minutes later.

 

At around 6:30 a.m., someone called the police and told them they believed their friend was being held captive at Mr. Meguerditchian’s house. When police responded they found a juvenile female in Mr. Meguerditchian’s garage with multiple injuries to her face. Mr. Meguerditchian believed she invited the people to the party who stole the bottle of liquor.

 

On Friday, October 27, 2023, the jury convicted Mr. Meguerditchian of first-degree felony murder, multiple counts of aggravated kidnapping, second-degree felony obstructing justice, and third-degree felony discharge of a firearm. Sentencing for Mr. Meguerditchian is scheduled for January 10, 2024.

 

“The jury sent a strong message to Mr. Meguerditchian when they handed down this conviction. The amount of violence that we saw over a bottle of liquor was astounding. Sugar House is a safer community with Mr. Meguerditchian behind bars,” said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill. “We would like to thank our prosecutors on this case, John Ham and Brett Robinson, our victim advocate David Torres, and our support staff for their dedication to this devastating case.”