https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/newsom-commutes-sentence-california-man-murder-21025655.php
Gov. Newsom commutes sentence of Calif.
man who committed murder for $500
SF Gate [San Francisco CA], by Katie Dowd
Posted By: NorthernDog, 9/1/2025 8:31:05 PM
Gov. Gavin Newsom has commuted the sentence of a Northern California man who committed a shocking murder-for-hire when he was 18 years old, the governor’s office announced Friday. Arthur Battle, now 37, will soon be eligible for parole after spending his entire adult life behind bars. The unusual case made headlines in 2006 when a trip to a Hollywood Video near the Del Paso Country Club in Sacramento turned deadly. As 19-year-old Vardan Abramyan headed inside to rent a movie, his father, Norik Abramyan, 45, waited in their Kia. Gunshots rang out in the parking lot as multiple shooters fired