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DA Will Seek Death Penalty at Half Moon Bay Mass Shooting Trial
- On Tuesday, Steve Wagstaffe, the district attorney of San Mateo County, announced his intention to pursue the death penalty for Chunli Zhao, who is charged in connection with the January 2023 Half Moon Bay mass shooting that resulted in seven deaths and one injury.
- The shooting stemmed from a workplace dispute involving a $100 damage charge among immigrant farmworkers living in substandard conditions, with Zhao charged with seven murders and one attempted murder.
- Zhao, 68, pleaded not guilty and appeared to confess in a jailhouse interview, while the next hearing is scheduled for August 6 to set a jury trial date.
- California has not executed anyone since 2006 due to Governor Newsom's 2019 moratorium, making this move largely symbolic, though it marks San Mateo County’s first death penalty pursuit in over 15 years.
- This case reflects a cautious reemergence of capital punishment efforts in California amid nationwide trends of increased executions and shifting local prosecutorial policies.
12 Articles
12 Articles
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ST. LANDRY PARISH, La. (KLFY) -- St. Landry Parish District Attorney seeks death penalty after Davieontray Breaux was indicted again for first degree murder and other charges earlier today. Davieontray Breaux indicted again for two counts of first degree murder and also charged with three counts of attempted first degree murder, Chad Pitre, St. Landry District Attorney, said. In June 2022, a St. Landry Grand Jury indicted Breaux along with Felto…
DA to seek death penalty against man accused of killing 7 Northern California farmworkers
San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe will seek the death penalty against the man accused of gunning down seven Half Moon Bay mushroom farmworkers in the county’s deadliest mass shooting on record. The decision, announced at a court hearing Tuesday, ends months of debate within Wagstaffe’s office over whether 68-year-old Chunli Zhao should face the possibility of death at his still-to-be-scheduled murder trial. Death penalty cases a…
District attorney seeks death penalty in Half Moon Bay mass shooting prosecution
San Mateo County District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe will seek the death penalty against the man accused of killing seven people and injuring another in a mass shooting in Half Moon Bay in January 2023.
Prosecutors Seek Death Penalty for Half Moon Bay Shooting Suspect, Though He Likely Won’t Be Executed
The San Mateo County District Attorney said in court Tuesday that he’s seeking the death penalty for accused Half Moon Bay mass shooter Chunli Zhao, though this is mostly a symbolic move. When that Half Moon Bay mass shooting in January 2023 took the lives of seven people and injured an eighth person, the legal proceedings against suspected shooter Chunli Zhao started right away. And now two-and-a-half years later, those courtroom proceedings ar…
Kron 4 News
MSNDA will seek death penalty at Half Moon Bay mass shooting trial
(KRON) -- The San Mateo County District Attorney's Office announced prosecutors will seek the death penalty against Half Moon Bay mass shooting suspect Chunli Zhao. Zhao, 68, of Half Moon Bay, appeared in court on Tuesday and learned that his upcoming trial will be a capital murder case. Prosecutors' announcement marks the first time in recent history that a district attorney in the San Francisco Bay Area sought the death penalty. San Mateo Coun…
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