SEATTLE, Wash. — A 33-year-old citizen of China, who was living in Los Angeles, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office says Ji Wang will spend seven years in prison for kidnapping and assaulting the worker of a hot pot restaurant in Bellevue in 2023.
The office says the worker’s injuries were so severe that he was in a coma for six weeks, required four skull surgeries, and racked up more than $1 million in medical bills.
According to records filed in the case, Wang was connected to a ring smuggling people across the southern border into the U.S. for a fee. Documents state that the worker was supposed to collect and transfer smuggling fees from those who wanted to come into the U.S. but wasn’t collecting as high of a fee as expected.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office says that Wang and another man beat the employee, smashed his face into the cement and dragged him down a set of stairs.
Witnesses quickly called 911. Bellevue police say they worked with the victim’s girlfriend to try and track him down. Officers say the girlfriend placed a video call to the man’s phone and Wang answered. Police recorded the call and were able to identify him as their prime suspect.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office says Wang will likely be deported following his prison term.
The case was investigated by the Bellevue Police Department, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI), and the U.S. Marshal’s Service Task Force.
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