Man Receives 8 Years for Gang Bombings

A 20-year-old Glendale man has been sentenced to eight years in state prison for building bombs and using them against rival gang members, authorities said Thursday.

In Glendale Municipal Court last month, Arash Forouzanfar admitted he was guilty of three counts of using an explosive device and one count of possessing the ingredients to make a bomb, Deputy Dist. Atty. Sandra G. Harris said. Under a plea agreement, the prosecution dropped five other counts of using an explosive device, which could have resulted in more prison time, she said.

Pasadena Superior Court Judge Terry Smerling handed down the eight-year sentence Wednesday. Forouzanfar may be eligible to serve some of his prison time in a California Youth Authority facility, court officials said.

Forouzanfar was arrested Oct. 16 after a five-month investigation by Glendale and Los Angeles police. Investigators were looking into reports that a Glendale gang was using bombs against a rival gang. At the time of his arrest, police searched a Burbank house that Forouzanfar often visited and seized two bombs and chemicals that could have been used to make others.

Police said Forouzanfar was dubbed “the scientist” by his friends because of his skill with explosives.

Harris said the criminal charges stemmed from gang-related explosions in northeast Los Angeles and the Glendale-Burbank area, including one in which a Glassell Park youth was injured.