After reading the allegedly threatening e-mail sent to a campus professor last month, one local judge has increased the bail of a former UCSB student by $230,000.

Arash Shamsian, who was charged with sending the e-mailed threats to UCSB chemistry professor Dr. Khaliju Khan, is now being held on $250,000 bail, following a hearing before the Santa Barbara Superior Court.

During the hearing, Shamsian was accused of threatening Khan after he received a negative letter of recommendation for medical school from the professor. In the letter, Khan stated he would “be afraid to ever meet [Shamsian] as a patient.”

In response to the letter, Shamsian, who was studying at a school in Guadalajara, Mexico, allegedly sent an e-mail that read, “In response to this, I have decided to kill you … I will make sure your family will also suffer.”

Presiding judge Joseph Lodge — who also teaches a criminal justice course at UCSB — said he was disturbed by the threats. As the e-mail was read, the judge passed a note to court bailiffs, who then moved in behind the defendant.

Lodge then announced that the increase in bail from $20,000 to $250,000 was to reflect Shamsian’s flight risk and the nature of the letter. Afterward, Shamsian was searched and arrested on the spot. The defendant had previously posted the lower bail amount.

Shamsian willingly surrendered to authorities on March 19 at Los Angeles International Airport. UCPD spokesman Matt Bowman said his department worked with federal law enforcement to orchestrate the 27-year-old’s peaceful surrender.

Print