Suspect wanted in month-long crime spree throughout LA County

ROWLAND HEIGHTS, Calif. (CNS / FOX 11) - The search continued Sunday for a man police have linked to a string of crimes in several communities during the past month, including a pursuit that ended with a second suspect shooting himself in the head.

Artyom Gasparya, 32, is wanted for murder, attempted murder, carjacking and robbery spanning Burbank, Panorama City and the Carson area, according to LAPD Media Relations and various media reports.

Most recently Gasparyan was tied to a police pursuit that began near Harbor Gateway and ended when the second suspect, Daniel Ramirez, shot himself in the head at a Long Beach home in the 3300 block of Daisy Avenue after shooting two men and stabbing another.

Ramirez remained in grave condition today at an area hospital as police identified him as a Gasparyan accomplice.

Meanwhile, police said Gasparyan's crimes date back to a Dec. 9 shooting in Burbank where a 67-year-old man was shot multiple times at his home and a 33-year-old gardener was also wounded.

On Dec. 30, Gasparyan allegedly was involved in the shooting death of a 37-year-old man near Van Nuys Boulevard and Plummer Street that was initially reported as a road rage incident.

Officers found the victim lying near a car and transported him to a hospital where he was later pronounced dead, according to media reports.

Police also believe Gasparyan is linked to several other shootings in the Panorama City area, also on Dec. 30, that left three people wounded.

The Long Beach pursuit began when Gasparyan and Ramirez allegedly stole a Volkswagon Passat on New Year's Day and then led police on a high-speed chase through the Carson area, police said.

At 9:30 a.m. on New Year's Day, an off-duty Los Angeles police officer spotted the Passat at 182nd and Vermont Avenue, which had been involved in another crime earlier that morning, said Sgt. Bradley Hearn of the LAPD's Harbor station.

The off-duty officer phoned in what he saw and other officers eventually spotted the Passat near 223rd Street and Vermont Avenue, where the pursuit began, Hearn said.

During the pursuit, one of the suspects fired at the occupants in an orange Dodge Durango that pulled over when the driver heard the patrol car's sirens, Hearn said. The two occupants inside the orange Durango got out the vehicle. They were not injured.

Officers followed the Durango into Long Beach, where the driver crashed into a curb and ran into the house on Daisy Avenue, the police sergeant said.

"It was a random house. There was no connection (to the suspect),' Hearn said.

Ramirez, allegedly fought with a man inside the house and stabbed him in the face with a knife from the kitchen. The man and a younger son, who suffered an injury to his hands, were able to flee.

Ramirez allegedly held the remaining two sons in the house as hostages, eventually shooting them both, police said. Both were treated and released, according to media reports.

As police approached, Ramirez shot himself in the head, Hearn said. Police eventually found the Passat, but Gasparyan remains at large.

He is described as 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighing 170 pounds. He's considered armed and dangerous.

Anyone who knows of Gasparyan's whereabouts is asked to call Burbank Police at (818) 238-3000. Anonymous tips to Crime Stoppers can be made by calling 800-222-8477.

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