Posted on August 1, 2014

Suspect in Fatal USC Attack Entered Country Illegally, Feds Say

Kate Mather and Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, July 31, 2014

A 19-year-old charged with murder in connection with last week’s fatal assault on a USC graduate student told immigration officials that he entered the country illegally about seven years ago, a federal official said.

The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, said Jonathan DelCarmen made the comments during an interview at a Los Angeles County jail where he is being held in connection with the death of Xinran Ji, 24.

A spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed that an immigration detainer had been placed against DelCarmen. In a statement, spokeswoman Virginia Kice said ICE officials contacted DelCarmen at the jail Wednesday.

“ICE has lodged an immigration detainer against Mr. DelCarmen requesting that the Sheriff’s Department turn him over to ICE for possible follow-up immigration enforcement action if and when he is released from local custody,” Kice said.

Xinran Ji

Xinran Ji

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DelCarmen is one of four teenagers charged with capital murder in the July 24 assault that killed Ji, an engineering graduate student from China. Police said Ji was walking home from a study group about 12:45 a.m. when he was attacked near campus, just blocks away from his apartment.

Police and prosecutors say Ji was beaten with a bat and suffered a head injury. Detectives said they believe he may have tried to get away from his attackers, only to be beaten a second time, according to law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation.

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DelCarmen and three others–identified as Andrew Garcia, 18; Alberto Ochoa, 17; and Alejandra Guerrero, 16–were charged Tuesday in connection with Ji’s death. The murder charge carries a special circumstance allegation that Ji was killed during an attempted robbery, allowing prosecutors the option of seeking the death penalty against DelCarmen and Garcia.

Because of their ages, Ochoa and Guerrero will not face the death penalty, but prosecutors said they could be sentenced to life in prison without parole if convicted. {snip}

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After attacking Ji near campus, prosecutors say, the suspects drove to Dockweiler State Beach, where Garcia, Ochoa and Guerrero approached a man and a woman. Officials said the three robbed the woman, but the man escaped and flagged down police officers who were patrolling the area.

A criminal complaint alleges that the three again used a bat at the beach, and that Ochoa and Guerrero also used a knife.

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