An Armenian truck driver from California alleged to have been involved in the theft of more than $200,000 of copper from a Douglas business earlier this year posted a bond Friday to get released from the Cochise County jail, just a few hours after a judge slashed the amount of bail from $150,000 to $10,000.
Artush Arturi Grigoryan and co-defendant Nova Vahi Markos were indicted by a county grand jury in April on six felony theft charges allegedly committed on or about Feb. 9. They are each charged with four counts of theft, one count of taking the identity of another, and one count of fraudulent schemes and artifices.
The copper has never been located nor recovered, according to public records.
Grigoryan self-surrendered at the county jail in Bisbee on Aug. 14 after learning a nationwide arrest warrant had been issued in conjunction with the indictment. Defense attorney Josh Blumenreich immediately filed a motion in support of dropping the $150,000 bond requirement.
Blumenreich’s motion argued Grigoryan, who is a legal resident of the U.S. and has an interstate commercial driver’s license (CDL), should be released on his own recognizance to await trial in California where he lives with his wife and three-year-old child.
The further motion noted Grigoryan promptly came to Arizona to turn himself in after learning of the warrant, thus demonstrating the 30-year-old’s “willingness to face these criminal charges head on.”
Attached to the motion were several character letters and letters of support from family, neighbors, work associates, and even Grigoryan’s parish priest within the Armenia Church of North America.
Modifying Grigoryan’s release conditions is at the discretion of Judge Jason Lindstrom of the Cochise County Superior Court. However, Friday’s scheduled arraignment and hearing on the motion to modify release almost never happened due to problems Grigoryan had in understanding the court-provided Armenian interpreter.
After a delay, Lindstrom recalled the Grigoryan case and the hearing proceeded with aid of a different interpreter service.
The judge indicated some amount of bond was necessary to ensure the defendant attends all future hearing dates and the trial, but felt $10,000 was a sufficient motivation.
By Friday afternoon the reduced bond had been posted and Grigoryan was released from custody.
Very few details have been publicly revealed about the case, such as how the theft is alleged to have occurred, or when Grigoryan and Markos came under suspicion. There has also been no explanation as to how the co-defendants were acquainted.
However, Arizona Daily Independent has confirmed the copper was under the control of Nogales-based Sanchez Brokerage Company when it went missing.
Suarez Brokerage works with a variety of businesses, including mining companies, to expedite customs clearances across the U.S. / Mexico border. The company has been in operation more than 40 years and has several offices in Arizona and California, including two in southern Cochise County.
Meanwhile, Markos was arrested in California in June on an indictment warrant and later delivered to the Cochise County jail by a specialty transportation company. Court records show Markos, 25, posted a $150,000 bond shortly after being booked.
No trial dates have been set for either defendant. It is possible the Cochise County Attorney’s Office will seek to hold a joint trial.
Deputy County Attorney Rachel Raynes is prosecuting both cases.