Fresno County prosecutors will seek death penalty for 3 mass shooting defendants
The Fresno County District Attorney’s office will seek the death penalty against three of the four defendants in the Nov. 17, 2019 mass shooting that killed four people and injured six others.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Kelly Smith revealed in court Friday that prosecutors will pursue capital punishment against defendants Ger Lee, 29; Anthony Montes, 29; and Porge Kue, 28. Not included is defendant Billy Xiong, 27, who still faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.
All four defendants were expected to be arraigned in Dept. 31 but a majority of them were in quarantine at the Fresno County Jail. The new date for arraignment is Jan. 24.
The four defendants recently went through a 14-day preliminary hearing where a judge ruled there was enough evidence for them to be tried by a jury.
The Fresno County District Attorney’s Office alleges that on the day of the killings the defendants, who are members of the Mongolian Boys Society gang, were seeking revenge for the murder of a gang member’s brother.
Prosecutors said the plan was to sneak into the backyard of a suspected gang rival’s home and open fire. But police and witnesses testified there were no gang members at the home that night.
Killed that night were Kou Xiong, 38; Xy Lee, 23; Kalaxang Thao, 40; and Phia Vang, 31. They had gathered with others for a football watch party in the backyard of a residence in the 5300 block of East Lamona Avenue.
This story was originally published January 21, 2022 at 11:39 AM.
