A judge dismissed the rest of the jurors and declared a mistrial Monday in the trial of a man accused of murdering a College of the Canyons student more than two years ago.
The L.A. County District Attorney’s Office indicated Tuesday it would be pursuing a new murder trial against Grigor Hovsepyan, 25. He remains in L.A. County Sheriff’s Department custody at Men’s Central Jail pending his next court date.
Hovsepyan was ordered back to the San Fernando Courthouse for a status hearing on the new proceedings in December, according to Eric Wexler Feil, a deputy district attorney who was part of the prosecution team on the case.
Hovsepyan stands accused of murder in the May 1, 2024, shooting death of Gavin Unzueta, who was throwing eggs at cars with two of his friends in the early morning hours on Reseda Boulevard in the San Fernando Valley, when they struck a car Hovsepyan was driving, according to testimony from Nick Sanchez, Unzueta’s friend, who was also in the car.
An investigation and subsequent search by the Los Angeles Police Department, which also included an unclaimed reward, ultimately led officers to arrest Hovsepyan in August 2024. An undercover officer reported that Hovsepyan confessed to him while in custody, saying the violence was arousing for his girlfriend who was in the car with him.
The trial contained several oddities, not the least of which was the dismissal of several jurors throughout the proceedings, due to health, scheduling or otherwise unavoidable conflicts.
Early in the proceedings, Hovsepyan’s counsel filed a motion questioning his mental competency to stand trial. After he was cleared by a pair of evaluations, he refused to attend his own proceedings, which garnered an extraction order and later an admonishment for Hovsepyan, which was essentially, “If you don’t show up, the proceedings will continue with or without you.”
Once the trial began, the girlfriend allegedly in the car, identified as Italia Sosa, initially refused to testify. She was in custody for a separate, unrelated first-degree burglary allegation, and at first, refused to leave her cell.
Then she was issued an extraction order, ordered to court, and after refusing to take the oath on multiple occasions, was placed in protective custody in L.A. County jails. She ultimately testified.
However, there were also problems with the jury.
“We essentially ran out of jurors, but we are going to pursue the case,” Feil said. “We are going to retry it.”
Two of the jurors bowed out earlier in the trial, and on the fifth day of deliberations, the second and final member from the replacement jury pool shared a note indicating they would not be able to proceed.
Feil said his impression was that there were still questions the jury was considering when the mistrial was declared.
Feil said a new trial would likely be scheduled for some time in February.
