Prosecutors to seek death penalty in Half Moon Bay mass shooting case
District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe announced the decision Tuesday in the case of Chunli Zhao. The 66-year-old is accused of shooting eight people at two mushroom farms on Jan. 23, 2023.
Authorities said Zhao shot several people at the California Terra Gardens where he worked, killing four and wounding a fifth victim. Zhao is also accused of fatally shooting three more people at Concord Farms, where he was previously an employee, before surrendering to authorities.
FILE - Chunli Zhao appears for his arraignment at San Mateo Superior Court in Redwood City, Calif., on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023. Zhao, a farmworker charged with killing seven people at two Half Moon Bay mushroom farms told investigators he was spurred to carry out the shootings after his supervisor demanded he pay $100 to repair a forklift damaged at work. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group via AP, Pool,File)
Shae Hammond / AP
The victims who died have been identified as Yetao Bing, 43, Zhishen Liu, 73, Aixiang Zhang, 74, Qizhong Cheng, 66, Jingzhi Lu, 64, Marciano Martinez Jimenez, 50, and Jose Romero Perez, 38.
Zhao pleaded not guilty in Feb. 2023 to seven counts of murder and one count of attempted murder and remains in custody. A judge has granted a defense request for a gag order in the case.
An executive order signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2019 has suspended the state's use of the death penalty and closed the state's execution chamber at San Quentin, but did not change the sentencing of any inmates.
According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the state currently has 587 people on death row.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for Aug. 6 to set a trial date, prosecutors said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
9 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Florida Mom Arrested After Allegedly Having Brown Grass and a Dirty Mailbox, Violating HOA Rules: I Was Treated 'Like a Criminal'
"To be taken to jail and to be treated like that for brown grass at my own home ... that's horrible," Irena Green saidNEED TO KNOW A Florida woman was arrested after allegedly violating the guidelines of her local homeowner's association (HOA) It was alleged in a lawsuit that Irena Green had "browning grass" on her lawn, a dirty mailbox and a commercial van, among other minor violations "To be taken to jail and to be treated like that for brown grass at my own home ... that's horrible," the homeowner saidA Florida woman is speaking out after she was arrested for allegedly violating the guidelines of her local homeowner's association (HOA). Irena Green was jailed on May 23 after The Trowbridge Company Inc. alleged in a lawsuit that the homeowner had violated community appearance rules, ABC Action News reported. The HOA management company, based in Hillsborough County, claimed that Green had 'browning grass' on her lawn, a dirty mailbox and a commercial van, among other minor violations, which they said they ordered the woman to correct. 'The grass has started turning brown. So then they started sending notes,' Green told ABC Action News. 'And it went from the grass being brown to there's a dent in my garage.' After the lawsuit was filed, Green said a judge gave her 30 days to tidy up her lawn and to correct the violations, or she would be jailed. 'I sold my van to comply. My mailbox was cleaned to comply. I bought seeds and watered my grass to comply," she told ABC Action News. Despite her attempts at resolving the issue, Green was later arrested after missing a next court date in August 2024, the outlet reported. 'I was supposed to receive documentation. Nothing was sent to my home. And I reached out to the courthouse several times to try to find out my court date," she said. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. On May 23, while picking up her 15-year-old daughter from cheerleading practice, Green was pulled over and arrested, according to ABC Action News. 'There was no bond. So I couldn't even go home to my family,' she told the outlet. 'I sat in there for seven days in the jailhouse like a criminal.' According to jail records seen by PEOPLE, Green faced two charges: contempt of court and failure to comply with court's order to show cause. Green was released from jail after her family presented evidence that she had cleaned up her yard to a different judge than the one who signed the arrest warrant, per ABC Action News. 'It makes me feel horrible. I work hard to buy this home for me and my kids in a better neighborhood and environment, and to be taken to jail and to be treated like that for brown grass at my own home ... that's horrible,' she said. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office and The Trowbridge Company Inc. did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment on Saturday, Aug. 2. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
9 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump gushes over Karoline Leavitt: ‘It's that face, it's that brain, it's those lips, the way they move!'
Donald Trump offered high, if not slightly uncomfortable, praise for his White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, gushing over 'that face' and 'those lips.' The president gave the unorthodox compliments during a Friday interview with Newsmax in response to Leavitt's claim that he should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his alleged success since returning to office. 'She's become a star. It's that face. It's that brain. It's those lips, the way they move. They move like she's a machine gun,' Trump said. 'She's a great person, actually. But she's – I don't think anybody has ever had a better press secretary than Karoline. She's been amazing.' The 27-year-old is Trump's fifth press secretary overall, though remains the only one from his second term so far. At a White House Press briefing Thursday, Leavitt praised Trump in a similarly effusive fashion. 'President Trump has brokered, on average, about one peace deal or ceasefire per month during his six months in office,' she claimed. 'It's well past time that President Trump was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.' Social media was quick to react to the president's comments during his Newsmax sit-down, with some accusing him of being 'creepy.' 'This definitely sounds like something Jeffrey Epstein's best friend would say,' one user wrote, referring to the ongoing furor surrounding the president and his connection to the deceased pedophile financier. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and said that he and Epstein had cut ties many years before allegations of sex-trafficking were made against the financier. 'Will ANYONE in the MSM ask him or the White House about this incredibly bizarre, creepy, cringey comment? Of course not,' wrote one user. 'It's amazing how his 'super Christian-y' base just love that he's such a creepy old pervert,' added another. A third wrote: 'If any man said this on the job about a fellow employee, they'd be fired instantly, and the company sued.'
Yahoo
9 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Birmingham murderer who stabbed his pregnant girlfriend to death dies in prison
A callous Birmingham murderer who stabbed his pregnant girlfriend to death after she refused to get an abortion has died in prison. Evil Filmon Andmichaen had lured the victim to a secluded wooded spot off Freeth Street, in Ladywood, before killing her in August 2023. The 32-year-old had been in a relationship with Liwam Bereket, 26, who was six-months pregnant and looking forward to becoming a mum. READ MORE: Teen arrested after Tamworth stabbing and another man glassed READ MORE: Tributes to tragic Birmingham siblings who died in Spain as messages say 'RIP sweet angels' READ MORE: Parents warned over harmful online content and gangs targeting kids in summer holidays Andmichaen had demanded that Liwam have an abortion - but she refused. He was found guilty of her murder following a trial at Birmingham Crown Court, which ended in November last year. He was sentenced to a minimum of 27 years in prison. Now it has emerged that Andmichaen died while serving his sentence at HMP Full Sutton, a Category A and B men's prison, near Pocklington, in the East Riding of Yorkshire. The Prison and Probation Ombudsman are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death in custody, which happened on Tuesday, July 8. The investigation status of the case is "in progress". A Prison Service spokeswoman told BirminghamLive: "Filmon Andmichaen died on 08 July 2025. As with all deaths in custody, the Prison and Probation Ombudsman will investigate." During the murder trial it emerged that almost two hours after stabbing Liwam, Andmichaen called the police and confessed to killing her, He had claimed it was an accident. Officers found Liwam with fatal injuries. Sadly, she and her unborn baby girl died at the scene. An investigation was launched and in the days that followed witnesses told police that they had previously seen Andmichaen assault Liwam in the street. Friends of Liwam's also described Andmichaen's treatment of her as "abusive and aggressive." CCTV captured Liwam and Andmichaen arriving at Freeth Street and disappearing towards woodland. It would be the last time Liwam would be seen alive. Speaking following the sentencing last year, Detective Chief Inspector Jim Colclough from West Midlands Police's Homicide Unit, said: 'It's just heart-breaking that a young woman who was looking forward to becoming a mum was killed in such a callous way. 'This was a very distressing investigation for my team, but they have been determined to get justice for Liwam and her family. Andmichaen has shown no remorse for his actions and has caused Liwam's family further pain by putting them through a trial."
