Man Crashes Car After Alleged Theft

GLENDALE —  Arsan Badalyan told police he wanted to drive the silver convertible BMW he’d just stolen to Las Vegas.

Instead, after allegedly carjacking the shiny new vehicle from a local dealership and causing three major accidents, the 20-year-old Hollywood man spent Friday night in the Glendale Jail.

The wild ride--which topped speeds of 85 mph on surface streets and included an unsuccessful attempt to zip in between two lanes of traffic--left at least six people with minor injuries, said Sgt. Fran Judge of the Glendale Police Department.

Badalyan drove off in the car, ostensibly on a test drive, shortly before 8 p.m., police said. But he rapidly ditched the salesperson from the Brand Boulevard dealership and sped away.

The BMW collided with other cars at two intersections a block apart along South Central Avenue, Judge said. Finally, about 8:10 p.m., he plowed into six other cars and crashed to a halt near Griffith Park in Los Feliz, at the intersection of Los Feliz Boulevard and Wayne Avenue.

“It wasn’t his car, so he didn’t care,” Judge said.

The escapade left the $40,000 car with dents and scrapes on all sides, police said.

Badalyan, who was unhurt, was arrested on suspicion of grand theft of an automobile, carjacking and reckless endangerment. He was being held at the jail in lieu of $105,000.