Man found guilty of murdering 80-year-old Encino man

A Van Nuys jury found a man guilty of murder Tuesday, March 18, two years after he fatally shot an 80-year-old man in his Encino home.

Timothy Kirkpatrick was found guilty n Los Angeles County Superior Court of first-degree murder, burglary, assault with a firearm and illegal possession of a firearm.

Kirkpatrick and Hakop Keloyan were arrested on April 26, 2022 in connection with the killing of Stuart Herman, who Los Angeles Police Department officers found with gunshot wounds almost two months prior. At trial, officials from the Police Department and coroner’s office argued that Herman died from a close-contact gunshot wound, and that the muzzle of the gun was within a foot of his body when it was fired.

Herman’s friend was staying with him at the time and had been pistol-whipped and held at gunpoint by the men. He eventually escaped, went to the roof of the home to hide and snapped a photo of a white BMW. Police later used the photo to identify the getaway vehicle and arrest Kirkpatrick and Keloyan.

On March 10, the first day of jury selection, Keloyan accepted a plea agreement, pleading guilty to two counts of personal use of a firearm and no contest to first-degree burglary, assault with a firearm, two counts of illegal possession of a firearm and four counts related to identity theft.

Keloyan is scheduled to be sentenced on April 3, and Kirkpatrick will be sentenced on April 2.

“Justice really was served under the circumstances,” said Deputy District Attorney Ranna Jahanshahi, who prosecuted the case. “They came back with the right verdict. It’s not going to change the trauma and bring back the decedent or change the trauma that the surviving victim was left with, but justice was served.”

City News Service contributed reporting.