GLENDALE : Trial Is Ordered in Fishing Trip Slaying

A Glendale man has been bound over for trial on a charge that he fatally stabbed an acquaintance during a fishing trip to an Imperial County wildlife refuge area, a prosecutor said Tuesday.

Samvel Ketelekyan, 40, faces one murder count in the death of Albert Mardirossian, a transient in his mid- to late 50s who had worked with the defendant in the produce industry. If convicted, the businessman could be sentenced to up to 25 years to life in state prison, officials said.

After a preliminary hearing Monday in El Centro Municipal Court, Judge Matias Contreras ruled enough evidence was presented to try Ketelekyan. Contreras set the defendant’s Superior Court arraignment in El Centro for Aug. 18.

Ketelekyan, who immigrated from Armenia in August, 1991, was arrested in Glendale and charged May 28 with Mardirossian’s death. The man’s body was found on a dirt road in the Wister Wildlife area in Niland.

During the hearing, Imperial County Deputy Dist. Atty. Donal Donnelly called on a coroner to testify that the victim sustained stab wounds in the chest and left eye and a broken left knee.

Imperial County Sheriff’s Deputy Mike Leon also testified that Ketelekyan confessed to fighting with Mardirossian and driving his vehicle over the victim’s left knee. Ketelekyan told Leon he didn’t remember the stabbing.

The defendant’s public defender, Bill Lahman, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.