Gang ‘Scientist’ Pleads Guilty to Bomb Counts
A 20-year-old Glendale man, who police said was a gang member nicknamed “The Scientist” because he could build bombs for use against a rival gang, pleaded guilty last week to four felony charges in Glendale Municipal Court.
Arash Forounzanfar pleaded guilty Thursday before Judge Barbara Lee Burke to three counts of possessing an explosive device and one count of possessing materials with the intent to make a bomb. Burke ordered him to appear May 1 in Pasadena Superior Court for a probation report and sentencing.
After entering his plea, he was returned to jail in lieu of $250,000 bail.
Forounzanfar was arrested Oct. 16 after a five-month investigation by Glendale and Los Angeles police, who heard reports that a Glendale area gang was planning to use explosives against a rival gang. Officers said they believed that two explosions last year in vacant Glendale lots were tests conducted by Forounzanfar or his associates.
At the time of his arrest, police searched a Burbank house frequented by Forounzanfar and seized two completed bombs and chemicals that could have been used to make other explosive devices.
Investigators said his friends had dubbed Forounzanfar “The Scientist” because of his skill with explosives.
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