Thursday, Feb. 19, 2004 | 9:17 a.m.
Metro Police arrested a 23-year-old Henderson man Monday afternoon for allegedly attacking three employees of Planet Hyundai with a pipe in a dispute over a car.
Arutyun "Art" Akopikyan was charged with three counts of assault with a deadly weapon in connection with the Jan. 15 incident at the car dealership at 7150 W. Sahara Ave.
Akopikyan's brother, Armen, 21, told the Sun the day after the incident that he and Arutyun were attacked by a group of employees. However, the police report paints a different picture.
Armen Akopikyan leased a Hyundai Sonata from the dealership Jan. 10, but five days later a representative of the dealership called and told him that because of a "credit issue," they couldn't finalize the lease, according to the police report.
Armen Akopikyan was asked to bring back the car to renegotiate the deal.
About 10 p.m. that night, the brothers returned to the dealership. After talking to several sales and finance employees, Armen Akopikyan became upset and "began making a scene," the report says, yelling at employees and telling prospective customers not to buy cars there.
The brothers walked out to their Nissan sport utility vehicle parked in the lot, and a sales manager, 27-year-old Brian Shaffer, followed them, telling Armen Akopikyan he needed to return the Hyundai.
According to the police report, Art Akopikyan got out of the vehicle brandishing a pipe and shouting "You're all dead!"
A brawl involving at least 10 people ensued, witnesses said.
When Planet Hyundai employee Matthew Smith, 23, got between Art Akopikyan and Schaffer while trying to break up the argument, he was struck in the head with the pipe, the report says. Smith fell to the ground, bleeding from the wound.
Shaffer tried to get the pipe from Art Akopikyan and was hit in the back of his head, the report says.
General manager Chris Shaffer, 32, who is Brian's brother, told police that when he went out to the front of the dealership he saw one of the men with a pipe in his hand swinging at people.
Chris Shaffer told police as he grabbed Art Akopikyan by the collar in an attempt to restrain him, he was hit on the forehead with the pipe, the report says. He tried to wrestle the man to the ground, and Art Akopikyan allegedly bit him on the finger, causing a cut and black contusion under the nail.
Police and paramedics were called. Smith was taken to University Medical Center where he received several staples in his head for a cut in the scalp and still suffers neck pain, the report says.
Chris Shaffer was treated at the hospital for the finger bite, and Brian Shaffer was treated by paramedics at the scene for a bump on the back of his head.
Planet Hyundai had the Hyundai Sonata repossessed several days later.
During a police interview at their home Monday, Armen Akopikyan allegedly told Detective K. Jordan of Metro's violent crimes section that he was upset because his credit was good, and when he tried to leave the dealership, employees confronted him.
He said he felt one of the employees grabbed his brother's hand and hit a fellow employee with the pipe.
Art Akopikyan admitted to arming himself with a pipe, the report says.
Both brothers told the detective that they carried the pipe for self-protection because Las Vegas is similar to "the wild west."
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