At the start of spring semester, many Iowa Staters were shocked to discover a fellow student and his friend were charged with taking part in a staged shooting during semester break.

ISU student Matthew Nels Bergman and Timothy James Hedden, of Odebolt, pleaded guilty on Monday, March 16, to various charges, including reckless use of a firearm causing bodily injury.

The men were originally charged with reckless use of a firearm causing serious injury, which is a class C felony and carries a maximum 10-year prison term.

The duo plea-bargained, and the new charges are a class D felony with a five-year maximum prison term.

In addition to the firearm charges, both men pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, an aggravated misdemeanor and filing a false report with police, a serious misdemeanor.

Bergman, 19, was a freshman in pre-architecture at the time of the shooting, which took place Dec. 16, 1997. Aided by Hedden, who is not an ISU student, Bergman conjured up a scheme to impress Julie Rens, sophomore in architecture.

According to police reports, the duo lured Rens to Stuart Smith Park, 1501 S. 4th St., where an armed and masked Hedden attacked her. Bergman then arrived to “save” her, and the two men struggled in front of her.

Police reports said Hedden shot Bergman in the right shoulder on purpose. When Hedden fled the scene of the staged attack, Rens took Bergman to get medical attention.

The Ames Police Department filed charges against Bergman and Hedden the same day of the incident. Sgt. Randy Kessel, who was in charge of the investigation, told the Daily on Jan. 13 that the police figured out the “attack” was a set-up almost immediately.

“It appeared to be a ruse they concocted for her to meet Bergman,” Kessel said.

Bergman was arrested on Dec. 19, immediately after his release from Mary Greeley Medical Center.

Bergman, a native of Arthur, did not return to ISU after the incident.