A farm worker accused of killing seven people last month in back-to-back shootings at two Northern California mushroom farms pleaded not guilty Thursday.
Chunli Zhao, 66, is charged with seven counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.
Prosecutors said he opened fire on Jan. 23 at the Half Moon Bay mushroom farm where he worked, killing four co-workers and wounding another. They said he then drove to a mushroom farm from which he was fired in 2015 and shot dead three former co-workers.
Zhao admitted to the shooting during a media interview in jail days after the shooting. Zhao told KNTV-TV that he was intimidated and that he worked long hours on the farms and his complaints were ignored.
FIVE CALIFORNIA BALLET DANCERS SERIOUSLY INJURED IN ACCIDENT AS POLICE SEARCH FOR SUSPECT WHO FLED ON FOOT
A farm worker at a California mushroom farm has pleaded not guilty to killing seven people in consecutive shootings. (FoxNews)
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Dressed in a red jail uniform on Thursday, Zhao appeared behind a glass partition in the courtroom with his head bowed, speaking only as a Mandarin translator relayed the judge’s questions, the Mercury News reported. At a hearing last week, Zhao sobbed so hard that the judge called for a brief recess.
Last week, the judge issued a gag order barring defense attorneys and prosecutors, as well as Zhao and the county sheriff’s office, from speaking to reporters about the facts of the case or sharing opinions about what happened. They can still discuss the decisions that were made in public court and the procedural status of the next hearings.
Earlier, the judge granted a request by defense attorneys to restrict remote access to court records.
