Two Los Angeles County males accused of working an unlawful hashish extraction enterprise have been charged with homicide after 5 of their employees died in two separate incidents, authorities stated Friday.
In keeping with the L.A. County district lawyer’s workplace, Ted Chien, 53, and Han Quan Jiao, 55, administered the operation, which included not less than 9 areas countywide.
In October 2023, an explosion occurred at a warehouse in Irwindale that was allegedly getting used for honey oil extraction, prosecutors stated in a press release. 4 employees — Yi Luo, Xin Chen, Guangqi Fu and Quizhuo Liang — have been killed within the blast.
One other worker, Bordin “Tony” Sikarin, was killed simply over a 12 months later in a fireplace that broke out at a laboratory in South El Monte, in response to the district lawyer’s workplace. Prosecutors allege that the placement was additionally run by Chien and Jiao.
The 2 are accused of constant to distribute unlawful concentrated hashish even after the deaths of the 5 employees, officers stated.
“This case reveals the lethal and disastrous outcomes when unlawful hashish operations recklessly put greed over the protection of their workers and neighbors,” stated L.A. County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman. “Hashish could also be authorized in California, however this sort of high-risk, criminality will not be.”
Chien, of Temple Metropolis, has been charged with 5 counts of homicide and two felony counts of arson inflicting nice bodily harm, prosecutors stated. Jiao, of Rosemead, faces one rely of homicide and arson inflicting nice bodily harm.
The 2 additionally face eight felony counts of producing a managed substance and three felony counts of sustaining a spot for promoting or utilizing a managed substance, in response to the district lawyer’s workplace.
If convicted as charged, prosecutors say Chien might face a sentence of life in jail with out the potential of parole or the dying penalty. Jiao might face a life sentence.
A number of employees have been additionally charged for his or her alleged involvement within the enterprise, the district lawyer’s workplace stated. Xiaolong Deng, 36; Chengyan Xu, 61; Christopher Reyes, 30; and Frank Herrera, 35, allegedly labored for Chien and Jiao. They every face one rely of conspiracy to fabricate concentrated hashish, a managed substance.
Reyes, Herrera and Deng have been additionally every charged with one rely of producing and compounding or producing a managed substance. Xu was charged with two counts of the identical offense, officers stated.
The case was being investigated by the district lawyer’s Bureau of Investigation, in addition to a number of different companies together with the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Postal Service.
