The lawyer for Shili Chen, one of two grandparents charged in the Sept. 26 killing of Jonathan McKinsey at Dublin Sports Grounds, argues her husband planned the shooting without telling her. The claims are in a bail motion reported by the San Francisco Chronicle and the East Bay Times.
Chen, 77, and her husband, Shouyong Zhang, 77, are held without bail at Santa Rita Jail. Both pleaded not guilty Oct. 19, as we reported in our earlier story. McKinsey, 40, was their son-in-law and was in a divorce and custody fight with their daughter. DanvilleSanRamon.com reports the bail hearing is set for Nov. 4 at the East County Hall of Justice.
What the defense argues
Attorney Curtis Briggs wrote that Zhang asked Chen to drive him to the park and did not tell her why, the Chronicle reports. According to the filing, Zhang told detectives that "no one knew what I was going to do." Briggs argues that Chen heard gunshots, panicked and fired because she feared McKinsey had tried to kill her husband. He also argues she fired after McKinsey was likely already dead.
Briggs says prosecutors lack evidence for the "lying in wait" special circumstance that lets the court hold Chen without bail, the Chronicle reports. The East Bay Times says the 28-page motion describes the couple as "extremely weak and frail" and says Zhang showed signs of advanced dementia. The motion repeats claims that McKinsey had abused family members. Those claims have not been tested in court.
The husband's motion
In a separate filing, Zhang's public defenders call the shooting an isolated incident that grew out of a long family crisis. They argue his age and health mean he poses no public danger, according to the Chronicle. Prosecutors say the couple brought two guns to the park intending to kill McKinsey. The lying-in-wait enhancement carries life without parole.