Second Person Arrested In Chatsworth Street Racing Crash That Killed 2

(FOX 11 / CNS) A second person was in custody today for allegedly being involved in an illegal street race in Chatsworth that killed two people a week ago.

Irael Valenzuela, 38, of Los Angeles, was arrested on Tuesday and booked on suspicion of murder, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Valenzuela was held on $2 million bail. No court date was immediately set.

On the same day that Valenzuela was arrested, 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.

Gevorgyan is due back in court March 11, when a date will be set for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence for him to stand trial. He is being held on about a $2 million bail.

The crash happened about 2:05 a.m. Feb. 26 in the 21400 block of Plummer Street, near Canoga Avenue.

Eric Siguenza, 26, of Los Angeles, and Wilson Thomas Wong, 50, of Torrance were killed, and a third person was seriously injured.

Authorities allege Gevorgyan was behind the wheel of a Ford Mustang modified for illegal racing and which was abandoned at the scene.

The Mustang was one of two cars racing westbound on Plummer Street when the vehicle crashed into the victims, who were among an estimated 60 people watching the cars race, police said.

Video broadcast by news media outlets showed a Mustang racing another car before it veered to the right and crashed.

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.

Gevorgyan's attorney, Kate Hardie, told the Los Angeles Times her client was not driving the Mustang. The defense lawyer told the newspaper that video shows him standing on the street between the two vehicles at the starting line.

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