A Los Angeles man was charged Tuesday with capital murder for allegedly stabbing a 68-year-old taxi driver near a fast-food restaurant in downtown Los Angeles.
Victor Daniel Torres, 32, was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday afternoon in connection with last Friday’s killing of Burbank resident Oganes Papazyan, who died in a parking lot near a Burger King at Grand and Cesar E. Chavez avenues.
The murder charge includes the special circumstance allegation of murder during the commission of a carjacking, along with allegations of murder of a transportation operator and use of a deadly and dangerous weapon, according to Ricardo Santiago of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors will decide later whether to seek the death penalty against Torres, who is also charged with one count each of attempted first-degree robbery of a transit operator and carjacking.
The coroner’s office determined that the victim died from sharp force trauma to the neck.
Patrol officers saw Torres — who fit the suspect description — in the 500 block of North Main Street on Sunday and stopped him for questioning. He was subsequently booked for murder.