Three court hearings scheduled for suspects in Woodland Hills Clinic murder-for-hire

On January 8, 2025By Littum

Justice is set for Monday for three people charged in connection with the slaying of a doctor outside his Woodland Hills medical practice in what authorities have described as a murder-for-hire.

The victim’s ex-wife, Ahang Mirshojae, 53, of Calabasas, is charged along with Evan Hardman, 41, of Tomball, Texas; and Sarallah Jawed, 26, of Canoga Park, in the Aug. 23 slaying of her ex-husband, Dr. Hamid Mirshojae, 61.

Authorities said the victim was assaulted Aug. 23 as he walked to his vehicle in the parking lot outside his clinic in the 5900 block of Topanga Canyon Boulevard, near Warner Center Park.

Ahang Mirshojae was arrested on December 12, with Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman subsequently claiming that the woman hired a hitman to kill the victim for unspecified financial gain.

The murder charge against her includes special circumstances charges of lying in wait and murder for financial gain in connection with the killing of her ex-husband, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. She also faces a felony charge of assault with a deadly weapon in connection with an alleged May 3 baseball bat attack on her ex-husband.

The murder charge against Hardman includes the special circumstance charges of murder for financial gain and murder by lying in wait, along with allegations that he personally and intentionally discharged a firearm and that he has a string of robbery convictions in Los Angeles County dating back . to 2002, according to the complaint.

The manslaughter charge against Jawed includes the special circumstance allegation of murder for financial gain.

Hardman and Jawed are also charged along with the doctor’s ex-wife in the May 3 baseball bat attack.

Jawed, who was arrested Dec. 11 by the Los Angeles Police Department’s fugitive unit, allegedly drove Hardman out of the state days after the killing, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

The three remain jailed without bail.

A fourth defendant, Ashley Rose Sweeting, 40, of Reseda, pleaded not guilty Dec. 12 to a charge of accessory after the fact, along with an allegation that she has one or more prior serious or violent felony convictions.

Sweeting — who is accused of driving Hardman to and from the scene of the shooting — remains jailed in lieu of $1 million bail.

She is due back in a Los Angeles courtroom on February 5, where a date is scheduled for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence for the case against her to proceed to trial.

At a news conference last month, the district attorney said Ahang Mirshojae was accused of “effectively hiring a hitman” — Hardman — to carry out the killing for financial gain. The district attorney did not provide any details about the amount involved or how much she allegedly paid to have the victim killed.

“The horror and treachery of this crime is beyond words, and it is with a heavy heart that we must also announce that charges have been filed against Dr. Hamid Mirshojae’s ex-wife, Ahang Mirshojae, in connection with this tragedy,” Hochman said. . “The depth of the deception and violence involved in this case is terrifying and we will not rest until justice is served.”

Mirshojae’s ex-wife was taken into custody after a police raid on a sprawling mansion she is believed to own in the 5500 block of Newcastle Lane in Calabasas.

According to police, Hamid Mirshojae walked to his vehicle in the parking lot of his Woodland Hills medical clinic around 10 p.m. 17.30 on 23 August. As he approached the driver’s side of his vehicle, “a masked man emerged from hiding around the corner of the clinic and ran toward him,” police said in a statement. “From close range, the suspect fired at Dr. Mirshojae in an ambush and then immediately fled back towards the rear of the clinic away from the scene.”

Police said last month they believe the people arrested so far in the case “conspired to commit murder, culminating in the ambush and subsequent death of Dr Mirshojae.”