2 Former UCI Students Plead Guilty to Stealing Tests
Two former UC Irvine students have pleaded guilty to stealing tests after a judge reduced the charges.
Orange County Superior Court Judge Ronald Owens on Tuesday reduced multiple felony counts against Amir Bagherzadeh, 24, and Kambiz B. Omidi, 23, to misdemeanors and sentenced each to perform 200 hours of community service with the state Department of Transportation.
If the two men satisfactorily complete the community service, Owens could dispense with the remaining portion of the sentence, one year in County Jail.
Bagherzadeh and Omidi could have been sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison if convicted on the original felony counts of conspiracy, burglary and possession of stolen property.
The two men were charged with the Feb. 2, 1990, break-in of a biology professor’s office and the theft of fake exams planted by campus police.
The two students, together with two others, were suspected of stealing the tests to improve their grades. Campus police acted on a tip from a biology professor in setting the trap.
A third student, Arash Behnam, 21, committed suicide in a Tijuana hotel room a week after his arrest.
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