Suspect In Half Moon Bay Mass Shooting Enters Plea

REDWOOD CITY, CA — A man accused of killing seven people last month in a mass shooting at two Half Moon Bay farms pleaded not guilty Thursday.

Chunli Zhao, 66, was charged with seven counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances and one count of attempted murder in connection with the Jan. 23 shooting, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.

Zhao appeared in court wearing a red jumpsuit behind partially opened plexiglass windows with a Mandarin-speaking court-appointed interpreter standing beside him.

Zhao's preliminary hearing date will be set at his next scheduled court appearance at 9 a.m. May 3 after his attorney agreed to wave Zhao's rights to a hearing within 60 days.

San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said after Thursday’s hearing that attorneys are awaiting autopsy reports on the seven victims, which could take several months to complete.

Zhao remains in custody without bail. If convicted, he faces life without parole, or the death penalty.

Zhao made his first court appearance Jan. 23 but did not issue a plea. His arraignment was continued to Feb. 16.

The shooting followed a dispute over a $100 Zhao was told he had to pay to repair farm equipment after he was involved in a collision that involved a bulldozer and a forklift, NBC Bay Area reports.

The San Mateo County Coroner’s Office identified six of the seven Half Moon Bay fatalities as Yetao Bing, 43 (unknown residence), Qizhong Cheng, 66 of Half Moon Bay, Marciano Martinez Jimenez, 50 (Moss Beach), Jingzhi Lu, 64 (Half Moon Bay), Zhishen Liu, 73 (San Francisco), and Aixiang Zhang, 74 (San Francisco).

Jose Romero Perez, a man his late 30s, was identified as the seventh victim by The Mercury News and a GoFundMe.

Zhao's Thursday court appearance followed a hearing Friday in which Lee granted Zhao’s attorney’s request for a gag order. The order precludes prosecutors, defense attorneys, the defendant and the Sheriff’s Office from discussing the facts of the case publicly, except for court dates, court proceedings, and court rulings.

A judge at Friday’s hearing denied a second defense motion requesting a ban on cameras in the courtroom but granted a third defense motion precluding remote access to online court records of proceedings in this case.

Wagstaffe said it’s the first time he can remember his office being under a gag order in around 15 years.

“It made it very clear that I cannot comment on the facts or the circumstances of the case. I can’t express any opinions about the case. I can barely relate what happened in court and what’s going on at the next court appearance and I will very religiously stay within those guidelines,” Wagstaffe said.

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