Man Sentenced in Uncle’s Slaying

SANTA ANA —  Mohsen Dehdashti believed in the American dream, bringing his family to the United States from Iran so they could have a better life. But when he tried to help his nephew achieve that dream several years later, Dehdashti ended up with a bullet in his head.

On Friday, the nephew, Arash Hariri, was sentenced to 23 years to life in prison for the murder of his 67-year-old uncle.

Superior Court Judge Cecil Hicks said he was struck by Hariri’s “callous attitude,” which included a bold courtroom escape during his trial, and the judge spoke of how a family trying to help a relative was repaid tragically.

Dehdashti was killed July 7, 1996, after refusing to give the 29-year-old Hariri money. The victim and his wife had given the man money on two occasions in the past, the first time to help him emigrate from Iran in 1992.

During the July 7 confrontation at the couple’s home in Irvine, Mehri Dehdashti heard her husband shout, “It’s Arash, call the police!” As she began to do so, she heard a gunshot. Her eldest son, Sassan Dehdashti, ran out to find his father lying beside the house.

“How could I forget or forgive?” the son said in court Friday. “I ask myself every day, ‘Why would this happen to my father of all people?’ ”

The son said the family’s grief “will be forever.”

“My father worked hard all his life,” he said. “He brought us to this country so we could have opportunities to have a better life. [My parents] tried to give [Hariri] the same opportunity and they were repaid with death and misery.”

Mehri Dehdashti sat anguished in court as her son spoke and wiped away tears.

A niece, Soosan Fakhar, followed Sassan Dehdashti to the podium and spoke movingly of her uncle. Fakhar, 39, said her uncle helped her financially when she came to the United States and insisted that she remain in college when she considered giving up after her father died.

“He was always supportive of the people who wanted to better themselves,” she said. “He helped many family members. My uncle was a very kind and fine man.”

Hariri, who still faces two counts of attempted murder in an unrelated Long Beach case, expressed no remorse over the crime. In his pre-sentencing report, he stated that he believed his uncle could have “handled it better.”

Hariri told authorities that he shot his uncle because the older man had attacked him with a shovel, but police found no injuries on him.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Claudia Silbar, who prosecuted the case, urged Hicks to impose the strongest penalty possible on Hariri, who she said has “done absolutely nothing in this country other than commit crimes.”

In her remarks to the judge, Silbar mentioned a July 21 incident in which Hariri bolted from his seat, leaped over a courtroom railing and dashed for the door before being tackled by the victim’s other son, Sam Dehdashti, who was sitting nearby.

From then on, Hariri appeared in court in handcuffs and shackles. His escape attempt took place in full view of the jury, which quickly convicted him of second-degree murder as well as attempted kidnapping and burglary resulting from incidents after the murder.

“He has absolutely no respect, no regard for the laws of this country,” Silbar said of Hariri.

Deputy Public Defender Don Rubright said his client’s actions were caused by a mental illness. He said he did not object to the sentence.

“Given all of the circumstances, the sentencing was appropriate,” Rubright said. “It’s a sad end to a sad case.”