Arraignment delay in Chinese student killings

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LOS ANGELES— A delegation of Chinese students from the University of Southern California crowded an arraignment court Monday only to be disappointed by a delay in proceedings for two men charged with murdering a pair of USC graduate students from China.

Some 30 to 40 students who stayed away from jobs or classes to be on hand expressed confusion outside court about the procedures that led to a postponement of the arraignment of 20-year-old Bryan Barnes and 19-year-old Javier Bolden to July 18.

Lawyers representing the defendants asked the judge for a delay.

The men are accused in the April 11 shootings of 23-year-old engineering students Ming Qu and Ying Wu, who were sitting in a car in an off-campus neighborhood. Prosecutors say the motive for the crime is believed to have been robbery.

Outside the courthouse, the student group unfurled a huge banner saying, “Protect Our Safety.” It bore thousands of signatures in Chinese and English which were collected on campus and in the Southern California Chinese communities.

Members of the USC Chinese Students and Scholars Association also submitted a letter with 7,000 signatures to District Attorney Steve Cooley.

“We are counting on your office to help deliver justice in this case,” the letter said. “We and many others in China and elsewhere are paying close attention to this case.”

It said many Chinese students and their families have become very concerned about their safety.

Chen Zhunmin, head of the education office at the Chinese consulate in Los Angeles, attended the hearing. He said outside court that the victims’ families in China are grieving but do not plan to come to the United States for the legal proceedings.

“Their families can’t be here, so we are here,” said Ashley Zhang, a recent graduate of the public policy masters program at USC.

Zhang, 24, who came from Yunnan, China to study at USC, said she was not personally acquainted with the victims.

“This isn’t just about people who knew them. It’s about all USC students,” she said.

Zhang said she, like the students who were killed, were only children because of the Chinese government’s one-child rule.

Newly appointed public defenders for Barnes and Bolden said they had not yet received discovery in the case and asked for a delay until the end of August. Superior Court Judge Shelly Torrealba said that was too long and set the next hearing for July 18, when the defendants will be expected to enter pleas.

Both defendants also are accused of attempted murder for a Dec. 3 shooting at a party, and an amended complaint filed last month accuses Bolden of attempted murder in a Feb. 12 party shooting. Prosecutors say an error led to Barnes initially being charged in the latter case.

The defendants answered “yes” when asked if they agreed to the postponement.

Outside court, Lyong Liu, a graduate student in economics from Shandong Province China, said students have felt in danger since the killings.

“It’s very scary,” she said, noting students send each other alerts on social media if any danger is detected.

“The school won’t let you know, but your friends will let you know,” she said.

In another development, USC has asked a judge to dismiss a wrongful death suit filed by the parents of the victims against the university.

“The murders were random, unpredictable and unconnected to USC,” said court papers filed by the university. They said the university is not liable for off campus crimes.

The lawsuit claims that USC has aggressively recruited Chinese students with promises of a safe campus.