Man Killed After Jacking W. Covina Cop Car ID'd as Gevork Alachadzhyan of NoHo

GLENDALE, CA - The man who stole a West Covina police car and was killed in an officer-involved shooting was identified Wednesday by the coroner's office as 45-year-old Gevork Alachadzhyan of North Hollywood.

Alachadzhyan led police on a chase from West Covina to Glendale at speeds approaching 100 mph Sunday night, according to the sheriff's department.

When the chase reached Glendale around 10:30 p.m., a police SUV crashed into the driver's side door of the stolen cruiser to make it stop in a Glendale parking lot.

Alachadzhyan then put the cruiser in reverse, with West Covina police pinning it against a concrete wall and metal pole in the 100 block of South Glendale Avenue.

Alachadzhyan then allegedly tried to remove weapons between the passenger and driver's seat, according to the sheriff's department. Officers from the West Covina Police Department then fired at Alachadzhyan, hitting him several times.

Alachadzhyan was pronounced dead at the scene.

According to the sheriff's department, Alachadzhyan called Glendale police about 90 minutes earlier to request some sort of assistance in West Covina, and West Covina officers went there to assist him, sheriff's Sgt. William Cotter said.

Alachadzhyan was offered a ride to the West Covina-Covina border, according to the sheriff's department. The officer got out of the car and opened the back door of the cruiser so Alachadzhyan could get out.

However, Alachadzhyan ran to the driver's side door, got in and took control of the police car. The officer tried but failed to regain control of the cruiser from outside of it. Alachadzhyan then took off in the car.

The OIS remains under investigation, according to the sheriff's department.

— City News Service, photo via Shutterstock