Police Seek 5th Suspect in South Bay Brothel Robberies, Homicide
SAN JOSE (CBS SF) -- A fourth Southern California man has been arrested on suspicion of committing a string of crimes throughout the Bay Area in late September, including the homicide of a San Gabriel man in San Jose, according to police.
Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies arrested Jason Shen, 22, of Chino, at a home in Chino Tuesday, San Jose police said Friday.
In addition to murder, Shen was also arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, conspiracy, robbery, kidnapping and sexual assault.
He is considered one of five suspects in a series of robberies and sexual assaults at several Bay Area locations allegedly operating as brothels in addition to the murder of Xingjian Li, 31, in San Jose.
Three other men wanted in connection with the crimes were arrested last month in Los Angeles County, also on suspicion of murder, assault with a deadly weapon, conspiracy, robbery, kidnapping and sexual assault, according to police. They were identified as An Yan, 28, of Baldwin Park, Lin Tao, 27, of Monterey Park and Panpan Huang, 36, of Chino.
Police are still looking for an additional fifth suspect.
The crimes four separate crimes occurred at the alleged brothels between Sept. 27 and Sept. 28, detectives with the San Jose, Milpitas, Fremont and South San Francisco police departments discovered.
The men are accused of killing Li on Sept. 28 just after 8:40 p.m. in the 300 block of Elan Village Lane in San Jose. That location was also operating as a brothel, police said.
Responding officers found Li was suffering from at least one gunshot. He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Prior to the murder, the men allegedly sexually assaulted three women during separate robberies at other brothels in Milpitas, Fremont and South San Francisco.
The first alleged crime occurred on Sept. 27 and was initially reported as a suspicious circumstance in the 500 block of Murphy Ranch Road in Milpitas at 10:26 a.m. There, officers encountered a woman who said she had been robbed and sexually assaulted.
A few hours later, another woman was allegedly robbed and sexually assaulted in the 100 block of McLellan Drive in South San Francisco. That victim, however, didn't report the incident until two days later.
Hours before the Sept. 28 murder in San Jose, police in Fremont responded to a home invasion robbery at an undisclosed location. Three women there said they were robbed at gunpoint and one reported being sexually assaulted.
Police had indicated that there could potentially be additional victims of similar crimes.
The fifth suspect police are searching for is described as a Chinese man, age 25 to 30, between 5 feet 10 inches and 5 feet 11 inches tall, weighing between 160 and 170 pounds. He had a shaved head and was last seen wearing a school varsity-type blue jacket with tan sleeves.
Anyone with information about the suspect or may know anyone who was a victim in a similar crime is encouraged to call San Jose Police Department Detective Sgt. Raul Martinez or Detective Brian Meeker at (408) 277-5283. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call (408) 947-7867.
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