After intentionally missing two trial dates by refusing to leave his jail cell, a defendant accused of murder received a warning from Judge Hilleri Merritt: If he refuses again, they can proceed without him.
Grigor Hovsepyan, 25, of Granada Hills, has been in jail since his August 2024 arrest on suspicion of murder in the death of Gavin Unzueta, a College of the Canyons student, and attempted murder for allegedly shooting at his friends.
Merritt cited Penal Code section 977, according to the minute order for his courtroom, which states, “The defendant has been informed that their absence without good cause will constitute a voluntary waiver of any constitutional or statutory right to confront any witnesses against them or to testify on their own behalf.”
At Hovsepyan’s latest hearing Friday, Merritt also set a trial schedule, with the first step, jury selection, set to begin July 6. A pretrial readiness conference has been scheduled for next month.
Back in March, Merritt set a pretrial conference for Tuesday, and an eight-day trial time was estimated.
The L.A. County District Attorney’s Office has indicated it is not seeking the death penalty in Hovsepyan’s trial, but the defendant could receive life without parole if convicted of the first-degree murder charge.
Unzueta was in a car with friends who testified at Hovsepyan’s preliminary hearing in May 2025 that they were throwing eggs at cars near the top of Reseda Boulevard when one of those cars came after them.
A Los Angeles Police Department detective testified that four 9mm shells were recovered at the shooting scene. The investigator also testified that Hovsepyan talked about the shooting with a cellmate who, in reality, was an undercover officer.
He remains in the custody of Men’s Central Jail in Downtown Los Angeles, where he’s being held without bail.
