A 28-year-old gang member was convicted Oct. 23, 2015, of fatally shooting a man in his Alhambra garage in 2013, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced. The jury deliberated for a day before finding Xia Lin of San Gabriel guilty of first-degree murder in case GA091066. Jurors also found true gun and gang allegations. The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 1 in Department T of the Los Angeles County Superior Court, Alhambra Branch. Lin faces 50 years to life in state prison.
Deputy District Attorney David Ayvazian of the Hardcore Gang Division said in the evening of Sept. 22, 2013, Lin dressed himself in a hoodie sweatshirt and ski mask and walked up to the Alhambra home of Qui Jin Fang, a Chinese restaurant owner. While Fang was sitting in his car located in the garage, Lin shot the victim several times with a .22 caliber gun with a silencer, the prosecutor said. Fang, 43, died at the scene. One of Fang’s neighbors witnessed Lin leaving the victim’s home and called police, who later discovered the body, the prosecutor added. When police arrived at the home and began investigating the homicide, another witness told authorities that prior to the shooting he saw a man dropped off in the area in a white Mercedes, the prosecutor said. Following the shooting, Lin removed the ski mask and walked to a movie theatre where he discarded a fanny pack that held the murder weapon and ammunition, the prosecutor said. A short time later, a woman exiting the movie theatre found the fanny pack and called police. As police responded to the area, the same woman witnessed Lin looking for the fanny pack, the prosecutor said.
When authorities arrived at the scene, the woman pointed out Lin, who was about to leave the area in a white Mercedes. When law enforcement approached the car, they discovered Lin in the vehicle with a hoodie sweatshirt and ski mask next to him, the prosecutor said. Lin was subsequently arrested. According to court testimony, DNA evidence found on the trigger of the gun and inside the ski mask as well as eyewitness testimony, linked Lin to the killing. The case was investigated by the Alhambra Police Department.
