Man. 21, Pleads Not Guilty To Murder Charges In Connection With Deadly Chatsworth Crash

CHATSWORTH (CBSLA.com) — A 21-year-old man accused in last week's deadly street racing crash in Chatsworth pleaded not guilty Tuesday to murder charges.

As KCAL9's Jasmine Viel reports, video posted on a Facebook page shows the start of what authorities say was an illegal race that killed two spectators at Plummer Street and Canoga Avenue on Feb. 25.

Kate Hardie, a defense attorney, says the video is a piece of strong evidence that proves her client Henry Michael Gevorgyan is innocent of murder.

"I was very surprised that considering the video, and considering that the police had my client's sister identify him in the video moments before filing, that they still filed two murder charges," she said.

Hardie gave the video to police when Gevorgyan surrendered over the weekend, saying that it clearly shows that he was not behind-the-wheel of the 2014 modified Ford Mustang that morning.

Instead, Hardie says, her client was standing between two cars on the starting line with a flashlight.

"He is clearly not the driver that was in the video," said Danny C., the suspect's friend, outside of court.

Gevorgyan's friends declined to answer the question of who might have been driving the souped-up car and why he wasn't.

David Harmon, a Chatsworth resident, says he has seen the Mustang before.

"They're timing their cars. They're doing burn-outs. They're setting the tires on fire so they can get a better grip," Harmon said.

But Hardie says her client lost both his parents recently and has now seen his life flash before his eyes.

"He's devastated," she said.

Meanwhile, police told Viel they are confident they have the right suspect. No other arrests have been made.

Gevorgyan was being held in lieu of $2 million bail.