OAKLAND, Calif. — Two men were charged Friday with killing a California man who chased them after the pair are believed to have stolen his laptop at an Oakland Starbucks, multiple news outlets reported.
Shuo Zeng, 34, was fatally wounded shortly after 11 a.m. Tuesday when he chased the thieves and grabbed the door of their SUV. Witnesses told authorities the SUV sped up, causing the man to lose his grip and slam his head against a parked car, KPIX reported.
Byron O.J. Reed Jr., 22, and Javon Eugene Lee, 21, appeared in court Friday afternoon but did not enter pleas, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Byron Reed (left) and Javon Lee (right) charged in connection with Montclair Starbucks laptop robbery and death pic.twitter.com/jkAfe7M3u1
— Melanie Woodrow (@MelanieWoodrow) January 3, 2020
According to charging documents, Lee was involved in taking the laptop and is charged with involuntary manslaughter and second-degree robbery. Reed is charged with special circumstance murder and second-degree robbery, KGO reported.
Both men have prior second-degree robbery convictions in San Francisco, and Reed was on parole from state prison when he was arrested this week, the Chronicle reported.
Zeng earned his doctorate in physics in 2015 from Kansas State University and worked at a Bay Area tech company, the newspaper reported.
Flowers left outside #Montclair Starbucks. Man killed after chasing laptop thieves. @KTVU #Oakland pic.twitter.com/mS8MV68my4
— Elissa Harrington (@EHarringtonTV) January 1, 2020
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