Hate crime charges added against Laguna Woods church shooting suspect
Additional charges have been added against the Las Vegas man who opened fire at a church in Laguna Woods on May 15, killing one and wounding five.
David Weinwei Chou, 68-years-old, initially faced charges that included one felony count of murder, five felony counts of premeditated attempted murder, four felony counts of possession of an explosive device and felony enhancements of lying in wait and personal discharge of a firearm causing death. He was charged on May 17.
Now, one month later, prosecutors have filed an amended complaint against Chou, who will now also face additional enhancements of a hate crime for each of his five counts of attempted murder, and one special circumstance that he intentionally killed someone because of their race, color, religion, nationality or country of origin, as detailed by a release from the Orange County District Attorney's Office.
Should he be convicted of all charges faced, Chou faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
"After a review of additional evidence in the case, the Orange County District Attorney's Office has filed an amended criminal complaint to include hate crime allegations," said OCDA Todd Spitzer.
He is scheduled for arraignment at the Central Justice Center on August 19.
Chou was arrested on May 15 after entering Geneva Presbyterian Church in Laguna Woods, which was at the time hosting an Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church lunch banquet, when he opened fire on the attendees.
He was armed with two handguns, several incendiary devices and bags of ammunition, as he locked the doors of the banquet hall shut, trapping the parishioners inside.
Dr. John Cheng, 52-years-old, was killed after being struck by several rounds of gunfire as he charged the suspect.
Other parishioners were able to detain the suspect using electrical cords, seize his weapons and hold him until authorities arrived.
