Photo of Armean Shirehjini
Glendale PD

Police arrested a California man who crashed a wedding and stole $80,000 in cash and checks from a gift box.

The incident happened on Aug. 31 at George and Nadeen Farahat’s wedding, held at the Renaissance Banquet Hall in Glendale.

Witnesses told police the suspect blended in with 300 wedding guests at the reception for about 90 minutes. Shortly before midnight, he walked over to a table and grabbed a gift box containing between $80,000 and $100,000 in cash and checks before fleeing.

Surveillance video shows the man running down a back hallway and getting into a black Mercedes-Benz SUV driven by another man.

Police used surveillance footage and tips from the public to arrest Armean Shirehjini at his home in Sherman Oaks on Thursday. Police also arrested his getaway driver, Andranik Avetisyan (pictured below).

Photo of Armean Shirehjini
Glendale PD

“A lot of tips came in from that [surveillance video]. That helped us identify the suspects pretty early on in the investigation,” said Sgt. Jose Barajas with the Glendale Police Department.

Shirehjini had a gun on him when he was arrested, but no shots were fired.

Police executed search warrants at both homes and recovered a large amount of cash and drugs. Multiple firearms were also found.

Photo of Armean Shirehjini
Glendale PD

“Detectives are still processing a significant amount of evidence and will continue their work through the weekend, as this is an ongoing investigation,” a spokesperson for the Glendale Police Department said on Saturday.

Bride Nadeen Farahat spoke to KABC. “It’s such a vulnerable moment for us,” she said. “There’s someone in this hall, watching our guests, watching us, taking advantage of the situation. When he saw his opportunity, he went for it and darted out the back.”

“As soon as we found out what happened, you know, the music shut down, everything immediately stopped, she told KABC.

“I ended up sitting on the dance floor, sobbing with my friends and cousins around me,” she said.