| Man Faces Life Sentence for Running Down Originator
John Royston hit by car February 17, 2006 By PATRICK CROWLEY |
| Two mortgage loan officers had just finished eating dinner with another friend at a Southern California restaurant on Jan. 19 when a silver BMW came speeding through the parking lot.John Royston, 41, who is also an assistant high school football coach, shouted at the driver to slow down.
“The guy was speeding,” Dan Zeleznik, who works with Royston at America’s Choice Finance in Lake Forest, Calif., told MortgageDaily.com. “All John did was tell the guy to slow it down.” But then — according to Zeleznik, police and prosecutors — the driver of the silver BMW swerved, hit a parked Mercedes Benz and then turned the car on Royston in the parking lot of the Aliso Viejo Town Center in Orange County. “He just came right at us,” Zeleznik. “It was awful.” Royston was getting in Zeleznik’s pickup truck when the BMW allegedly slammed into him. A father of three, Royston suffered several injuries and, as of Jan. 31, was in a medically induced coma. Police have charged Morteza Bakhtiari, 26, the alleged driver of the BMW, with attempted murder, felony hit and run, misdemeanor hit and run for hitting the parked Mercedes and filing a false police report. “If convicted of all charges,” the Orange County District Attorney’s office said in a statement, “(Bakhtiari) could be sent to state prison for life.” Police broke the case on Jan. 27 when a witness walking a dog saw a silver BMW in Mission Viejo that had damage to its front end and windshield. The BMW was registered to Bakhtiari, prosecutors said. He allegedly reported the car stolen later that afternoon, which led to the charge of filing a false police report. He was arrested that day. Bakhtiari is being held on a $1 million bond. He has two previous convictions of drunk driving, two speeding tickets and was convicted of marijuana possession. Bakhtiari has pleaded not guilty. He had a pretrial hearing set for today and a preliminary hearing Feb. 24. Bakhtiari testified in court that he hit Royston while trying to escape the parking lot after being confronted by at least six men, one of whom threw a can of soda at his car. “That is absolutely not true,” Zeleznik said. “There were three of us, not six. And all John did was yell at the guy to slow down, and then he came at us.” Prosecutors also dispute Bakhtiari’s story, saying Royston was with two friends, not five. Zeleznik said he and Royston have worked together for three years. “He’s a great guy, a good father, a football coach who gives his time to kids and a professional at work,” Zeleznik said. “We’re optimistic he’s going to come out of this, but it’s still been an ordeal.” |
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Patrick Crowley is a feature journalist and blogger for MortgageDaily.com. He is also a reporter, blogger and columnist for The Cincinnati Enquirer. |
