2nd Person Pleads Not Guilty In Fatal Chatsworth Street Race

CHATSWORTH (CBSLA.com) — A second person was charged Thursday with murder for his suspected involvement in an illegal street race in Chatsworth that killed two people a week ago.

Irael Valenzuela, 38, of Los Angeles, was charged with two counts of murder and one count of engaging in a motor vehicle speed contest on a highway causing a concussion, Los Angeles County District Attorney's officials said.

Valenzuela pleaded not guilty, and his attorney, Jay Jaffe, told KCAL9's Dave Lopez the specifics of the case to rise to the level of a murder charge.

"This really should not have been filed as a murder," Jaffe said. "But if filed at all, it should have been filed as a vehicular manslaughter."

Valenzuela was arrested Tuesday, the same day that Henry Michael Gevorgyan, 21, was charged with two counts of murder and one count of engaging in a motor vehicle speed contest, and he pleaded not guilty in a San Fernando courtroom.

Both men are scheduled to return to court on Wednesday, when a date will be set for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence for them to stand trial. They are each being held on more than $2 million bail.

Prosecutors say Valenzuela and Gevorgyan helped promote and organize an illegal street race in Chatsworth on Feb. 25 in the 21400 block of Plummer Street, near Canoga Avenue. During the race, a car spun out of control and crashed into a crowd, killing Eric Siguenza, 26, of Los Angeles, and Wilson Thomas Wong, 50, of Torrance.

Authorities say Gevorgyan is the owner of a Ford Mustang modified for illegal racing, that was later found abandoned at the scene. Lopez reported Thursday that prosecutors do not believe either man was driving in the race that ended with the crash, but they had a significant role in it, and that is why they are being charged with murder

Gevorgyan — who had been sought by Los Angeles police since the day of the crash — turned himself in at the LAPD's Central Station at 6:55 p.m. Saturday, department officials said.

If convicted as charged, Gevorgyan and Valenzuela face up to 33 years to life in state prison, according to the District Attorney's Office.

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