On July 19 around 8:12 p.m., a patrol officer was parked in the area of Pacific Avenue and San Fernando Road when his/her attention was drawn to two vehicles stopped next to each other at the red light.  When the light turned green, the officer could hear one male say, “Let’s go.” Both vehicles accelerated at a high rate of speed side-by-side as they jockeyed each other to take the lead, quickly pulling away from the usual flow of traffic with their engines revving loudly. The officer caught up to the vehicles at a red light and pulled both of them over, contacting the drivers, identified as 26-year-old Mario Solis of Sylmar (who was on probation for reckless driving) and 24-year-old Arootin Mahmudi of Glendale, regarding the violations.  Both males were subsequently arrested for participating in an illegal speed contest and their cars were impounded. 

On July 20 just after 8 p.m., a patrol officer was stopped at a red light at the intersection of Western Avenue and Glenoaks Boulevard when s/he observed a driver make a U-turn in the intersection, rev the engine and rapidly accelerate causing the vehicle to lose traction and make a screeching sound. Once the vehicle regained traction, the driver accelerated to approximately 50 MPH eastbound onto Glenoaks. The officer stopped the vehicle and contacted the driver, identified as 18-year-old Zhan Mnatsakanyan of Glendale, asking him if he was showing off to which Mnatsakanyan replied, “Yeah.”  Mnatsakanyan was subsequently arrested for reckless driving and his vehicle was impounded.

On July 21 at around 11:30 p.m., a patrol officer was working traffic enforcement in the area of Glenoaks Boulevard and Alma Street when s/he observed a vehicle accelerating on Glenoaks at a high rate of speed (over 70 MPH in a 40 MPH zone).  The officer stopped the vehicle and contacted the driver, identified as 21-year-old Artyom Davtyan of North Hollywood, regarding the violation. Davtyan was subsequently arrested for reckless driving and his vehicle was impounded.

The Glendale Police Dept. has and will continue to conduct speed enforcement on  city streets. Please remember to adhere to the posted speed limits and to all vehicle laws.