Gunman accused of killing Woodland Hills doctor pleads not guilty

Evan Hardman

The accused gunman in the killing of a Woodland Hills doctor, whose death prosecutors believe was the result of a murder-for-hire scheme orchestrated by the victim's ex-wife, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to murder and other charges.

Evan Hardman, 41, of Tomball, Texas, remains jailed without bail pending his next scheduled court appearance on March 17, when attorneys will discuss bail and a date will be set for a preliminary hearing to determine if there is enough evidence for the case to proceed to trial.

Hardman is charged in connection with the Aug. 23 killing of Dr. Hamid Mirshojae, 61. Also charged with murder in the case are the victim's ex-wife, Ahang Mirshojae, 53, of Calabasas, and Sarallah Jawed, 26, of Canoga Park.

Ahang Mirshojae and Jawed both pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges Monday morning and were also ordered to return to court March 17 for a bail hearing and a preliminary hearing.

Ahang Mirshojae

The murder charge against Mirshojae includes the special circumstance allegations of lying in wait and murder for financial gain, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. She is also facing a felony count of assault with a deadly weapon in connection with an alleged baseball bat attack May 3 on her former husband.

Hardman and Jawed are also charged in connection with the May 3 baseball bat attack.

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

The murder charge against Hardman includes the special circumstance allegations of murder for financial gain and murder by means of 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. Prosecutors on Monday added a new charge against him of being a felon in possession of a handgun.

Mirshojae and Jawed are also jailed without bail.

Authorities said the victim was ambushed 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. According to police, when the victim approached the driver's side of his vehicle, "a masked man emerged from hiding around the corner of the clinic and ran toward him. From a close distance, the suspect fired at Dr. Mirshojae in an ambush-style attack and then immediately fled back toward the rear of the clinic away from the scene."

Deputy District Attorney Ben Schwartz described the murder in court Monday as "an assassination." The prosecutor alleged that Hardman confessed to police when he was arrested in Texas and told officers that Ahang Mirshojae paid him thousands of dollars to murder her ex-husband.

Ahang Mirshojae was arrested Dec. 12, with Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman subsequently alleging that the woman hired a hit man -- Hardman -- to kill the victim for unspecified financial gain.

However, Donald Marks, Ahang Mirshojae's attorney, said his client had no expectation of financial gain.

"She had nothing to gain," Marks told the court, adding that the victim's will left everything to a trust involving the ex-couple's three children.

"She will get nothing from the proceeds of the trust," Marks said.

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

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A fourth defendant, Ashley Rose Sweeting, 40, of Reseda, pleaded not guilty Dec. 12 to one count of being an 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 Feb. 5, when a date is scheduled to be set for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to allow the case against her to proceed to trial.

It was unclear if the District Attorney's Office plans to seek the death penalty against any of the three defendants charged with murder.

Woodland HillsCrime and Public Safety