Left inset: Evan Hardman. Right inset: Ashley Rose Sweeting (Los Angeles Police Department). Background: The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating the death of Dr. Hamid Mirshojae, who was shot outside his detox clinic (KABC/YouTube).
Los Angeles police arrested two people for the murder of a doctor who treated drug-addicted patients, who reportedly included “celebrities, movie stars, athletes and many people from different walks of life.”
Dr. Hamid Mirshojae, 61, was leaving his Detox Woodland Hills clinic in the 5900 block of Topanga Canyon Boulevard just after 6 p.m. on Aug. 23 when he was “ambushed and shot by a lone gunman,” the LAPD said. The shooter ran to a “waiting vehicle,” which then drove away, police said.
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On Tuesday, police announced the arrests of Evan Hardman, 41, of Tomball, Texas, and Ashley Rose Sweeting, 40, of Reseda, California, on murder charges. Officers arrested Hardman in the Houston area and Sweeting in the San Fernando Valley. Police did not give a motive for the killing, but released the photos of the suspects to search for “other people who may have fallen victim to them.” The FBI and local police in Texas assisted in the arrests. The LAPD will present its investigation to the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office, which will consider filing formal charges.
Months before the murder, three “strangers” with baseball bats attacked Mirshojae, leaving him in fear for his life, a clinic employee told the Los Angeles Times. The motive for the attack never came to light because no arrests were ever made and it is not clear whether it was in any way related to the murder.
The employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear for her safety, also told the Times that the killing was captured on surveillance video. A gunman approached the doctor and shot him at close range, the employee told the newspaper.
According to his bio on his website, Mirshojae worked in addiction medicine for over a decade and provided emergency care for 20 years. He was said to have treated patients including celebrities, movie stars and athletes.
“He has helped thousands of patients achieve their goals of sobriety,” the bio says.
Local CW affiliate KTLA reported the doctor was from Iran. Friends and former patients praised him.
“Everyone in the Woodland Hills area, even in LA, knows him because he was a really good doctor,” family friend Maryem Alaei told KTLA after the shooting. “Always laugh, always joke, always help people.”
Former patient Pamia Mazahrei said: “I don’t know why bad things happen to good people in this world.”
