Suspect in Half Moon Bay shootings charged with 7 counts of homicide
The San Mateo County District Lawyer’s Workplace has charged the suspected gunman within the deadly shootings at two mushroom farms in Half Moon Bay, California, with seven counts of homicide. Chunli Zhao made his first court docket look Wednesday, the place he held up a chunk of paper to defend his face from the cameras.
The 66-year-old, who had two court docket appointed attorneys and an interpreter, didn’t enter a plea. Zhao is being held with out bail, and his arraignment is scheduled for Feb. 16.
San Mateo County District Lawyer Steve Wagstaffe instructed reporters outdoors the courtroom that Zhao spoke to detectives following his arrest, including that they “do have a sense on the motive at this level based mostly on what he has instructed us.”
Wagstaffe additionally mentioned police discovered a observe in Zhao’s automotive, and that the weapon used within the shootings was a Ruger.
San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus mentioned Zhao acted alone on Monday when she says he entered the Mountain Mushroom Farm and shot and killed 4 folks and wounded a fifth.
Police then found three extra deceased victims at close by Harmony Farms.
Zhao was taken into custody with out incident after he was positioned in his car within the car parking zone of a sheriff’s substation, and a semi-automatic handgun was present in his car, Corpus mentioned. Investigators assume the suspect was there to show himself in, however that they had not but confirmed that, Corpus mentioned.
On Wednesday, the San Mateo County coroner’s workplace recognized six of the seven victims within the capturing as Zhishen Liu, 73, Qizhong Cheng, 66, Marciano Martinez Jimenez, 50, Yetao Bing, 43, Aixiang Zhang, 74, and Jingzhi Lum 64.
The seventh sufferer has been “tentatively recognized” however their title is being withheld pending “constructive identification” and notification of subsequent of kin, the coroner mentioned.
Officers have mentioned a number of the folks killed had been migrant staff.
Servando Martinez Jimenez told CBS San Francisco that his brother, Marciano Martinez Jimenez, was a supply individual and supervisor at one of many farms. He mentioned his brother by no means talked about Zhao or something about issues with different staff.
“He was individual. He was well mannered and pleasant with everybody. He by no means had any issues with anybody. I do not perceive why all this occurred,” Servando Martinez Jimenez mentioned of his brother in Spanish.
Marciano Martinez Jimenez had lived within the U.S. for 28 years after arriving from the Mexican state of Oaxaca, his brother mentioned, who added that he’s working with the Mexican consulate to get his brother’s physique dwelling.
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