The man accused of shooting to death a prominent Woodland Hills doctor outside his practice nearly two years ago allegedly told detectives he was to get $400,000 for the job from the ex-wife who hired him, a Los Angeles police detective testified at a preliminary hearing this week.
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Evan Hardman, 42, is one of three people charged with murder in the plot that left Hamid Mirshojae, 61, dead in a parking lot in the 5900 block of Topanga Canyon Boulevard on Aug. 23, 2024.
Hardman told detectives Ahang Mirshojae, Hamid Mirshojae’s ex-wife, told him during a meeting in Agoura Hills months before that she wanted Hamid Mirshojae dead, Hardman allegedly told detectives during a four-hour conversation after his December 2024 arrest in Houston, where he lives. The defendant often traveled to Southern California.
Los Angeles police Detective Benyamin Sadeh, on the stand Tuesday, June 23 and Wednesday, June 24, testified, based on the lengthy interview, about the working relationship between Ahang Mirshojae, 55, and Hardman and how it allegedly escalated to a murderous partnership.
Hardman told detectives that Ahang Mirshojae suspected her ex-husband was prescribing opioids to their son, who Hardman said was a drug addict, to kill him and collect life-insurance money, Sadeh testified.
During a preliminary hearing, evidence is presented so a judge can determine if enough exists to move to a trial. The Los Angeles County Superior Court hearing was expected to conclude Wednesday, June 25.
In this case, Sarallah Jawed, 28, of Canoga Park is also charged with murder for allegedly helping in the plot. Ashley Rose Sweeting, 41, is charged with accessory after the fact, accused of driving Hardman to and from the murder scene. The ex-wife is also charged with murder.
In an interview with detectives, Jawed said he believed Ahang Mirshojae was, Sadeh testified, “very jealous of the victim because he was happy with his new wife and child.”
Court records show Hamid and Ahang Mirshojae divorced in 2010 and fought in an ongoing legal battle that included requests for restraining orders alleging threats of violence on both sides.
Hardman worked as a security guard at a hookah lounge on a property owned by Ahang Mirshojae in the 5900 block of Topanga Canyon Boulevard, property that also housed Hamid Mirshojae’s medical practice.
Hardman was fired after he was seen on surveillance video breaking into one of the businesses on Ahang Mirshojae’s property, police said. He later went to a bar, met with the Mirshojaes’ son and played a game of chess for $5,000, which Hardman won; the son didn’t have the money, so Hardman took his phone, jewelry and some clothing and told him to call the phone once he had at least $1,000, Sadeh said.
A memorial for slain Dr. Hamid Mirshojae sprung up in the parking lot of his Woodland Hills Medical Center. (Photo by Ryanne Mena, LA Daily News/SCNG)
Ahang Mirshojae, appears in court in 2025. (Pool photo by Frederick M. Brown for DailyMail.com)
Ashley Rose Sweeting and Evan Hardman. (Courtesy of LAPD)
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announces charges against Ahang Mirshojae, the ex-wife of a Woodland Hills doctor gunned down outside his clinic. (Nathaniel Percy, Daily News/SCNG)
But when the call came, the voice on the other line was Ahang Mirshojae’s, Hardman allegedly told detectives. She told him either he could work for her and make money, or she could send the surveillance video to the police, Detective Sadeh said.
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Ahang Mirshojae initially had him work at an apartment complex she owned, evicting tenants, Sadeh testified. She then asked him to assault and rob her ex-husband for a pair of watches Hardman said had sentimental value to her, which Hardman attempted in May 2024, with Jawed, near the medical practice, but was unsuccessful, Sadeh testified he was told.
An unhappy Ahang Mirshojae told Hardman he needed to “finish the job,” the detective said.
“I want him taken down, I want him all the way out,” she allegedly told Hardman during a meeting at a restaurant in Agoura Hills.
“Do you want me to kill him?” Hardman asked, the detective testified.
Ahang Mirshojae said, “Yes,” according to Hardman, Sadeh said.
The day of the murder, police say, Hardman allegedly ambushed and shot the doctor.
Ahang Mirshojae provided burner phones, changes of clothes, places to stay, vehicles and the gun Hardman allegedly used to commit the murder, Sadeh testified. After the shooting, they took the gun apart, with Ahang Mirshojae taking some pieces and Hardman others, which he discarded in two separate places.
Hamid Mirshojae was found face down on the ground, partially on a planter’s curb next to the driver-side door of his SUV.
Surveillance cameras caught a man, identified by Sadeh as Hardman, running toward the doctor, then quickly running away after allegedly firing the shot. Both men were out of view behind the SUV at the time of the gunfire.
Hardman met Ahang Mirshojae at a house near Lanark Park in Canoga Park, he allegedly told the detectives, and she was “very happy, super excited as if she had won the Super Bowl.”
She gave Hardman a blue bag with $50 and $100 bills inside, which she said was about $50,000, Sadeh said he was told. She told Hardman he’d get the rest when things calmed down.
Though Hardman provided many details, Sadeh said he didn’t want to talk about the actual shooting.
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