UCI Student Pleads Not Guilty to Charge of Stealing Written Exams

A UC Irvine student denied Friday that he was involved in a scheme to steal written exams.

Amir Bagherzadeh, 22, pleaded innocent to burglary charges during a brief arraignment at Municipal Court in Newport Beach. Bagherzadeh and another student were arrested earlier this month after they allegedly used a key to enter the office of the chairman of the molecular biology and biochemistry department.

Bagherzadeh’s attorney, Lawrence Ecoff, said his client’s bond was set at $2,500.

The second student, Arash Behnamh, 21, a junior math major and foreign student from Iran, shot himself once in the chest and died in a Tijuana hotel, an investigator for the Orange County district attorney’s office said this week. No note was found, but police believe the arrest was a factor in Behnam’s death.

Neither Deputy Dist. Atty. Bruce Patterson nor Bagherzadeh’s attorney believes Behnam’s death will have any impact on the case.

Ecoff said Bagherzadeh, a senior biology sciences major, still plans to graduate on time this year. “At this point, the school has taken no action,” Ecoff said.

Police allege the pair used the exams to boost their grades, not for the purpose of selling the tests. Linda Granell, director of public information at UCI, said she could not comment on Bagherzadeh’s case.

But she said that, in general, a student could face disciplinary action by the university if convicted of a crime. Such action could include suspension, expulsion or restitution.