Suspect in fatal USC attack entered country illegally, feds say

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Supporters of slain USC student Xinran Ji, in photo, gather for a press conference after the arraignment of Jonathan Del Carmen, Andrew Garcia, Alberto Ochoa and Alejandra Guerrero in downtown Los Angeles. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Supporters of slain USC student Xinran Ji, in photos, gather for a press conference after the arraignment of Jonathan Del Carmen, Andrew Garcia, Alberto Ochoa and Alejandra Guerrero in downtown Los Angeles. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Family attorney Rose Tsai, right, and many other supporters showed up to show their support for victim Xinran Ji outside court. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Students bring white flowers to the memorial service to honor Xinran Ji. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Xinran Ji in a photo displayed at the memorial service for the slain USC graduate student. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Jinhui Du, center, mother of USC Chinese graduate student Xinran Ji, 24, is escorted by family members into Universal Chung Wah Funeral Home in Alhambra. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

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Songbo Ji, left, and Jinhui Du, fourth from left, parents of USC graduate student Xinran Ji, 24, break down during a press conference outside of the Universal Chung Wah Funeral Home in Alhambra. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

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Relatives of Andrew Garcia talk with the media after he, Jonathan Del Carmen, Alberto Ochoa and Alejandra Guerrero appeared in court, accused of killing USC grad student Xinran Ji. Left to right are Garcia’s father Cresencio Garcia Jr., sister Rosemary Garcia, mother Rosalie Garcia and brother Chris Garcia. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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LAPD Cmdr. Andy Smith announces the arrests in connection with the killing of USC student Xinran Ji at the Los Angeles Police Department’s Comstat room. (Jabin Botsford / Los Angeles Times)

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USC students walk by blood on the sidewalk on Orchard Avenue between 29th and 30th streets near USC after an attack that killed a graduate student. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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A USC Public Safety vehicle sits in front of the apartment building where USC engineering graduate student Xinran Ji was found dead. He was the victim of a brutal assault, police said. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

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LAPD detectives do a follow-up investigation in front of the apartment building where University of Southern California engineering graduate student Xinran Ji was found dead. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

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LAPD Lt. Andy Neiman says the fatal attack on a USC graduate student may have been a crime of opportunity, but it’s unclear whether the victim was robbed. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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The scene outside an apartment near USC where a graduate student was found dead inside. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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A USC student was found dead in an apartment near campus. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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LAPD officers investigate around the apartment building where a USC Chinese graduate student was found dead. He was the victim of an assault a few blocks from campus, the university said Thursday. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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A USC graduate student from China was found dead at an apartment in the University Park area north of campus. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

By Kate Mather

and Richard Winton

July 31, 2014 3:24 PM PT

A 19-year-old charged with murder in connection with last week’s fatal assault on a USC graduate student told immigration officials that he entered the country illegally about seven years ago, a federal official said.

The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, said Jonathan DelCarmen made the comments during an interview at a Los Angeles County jail where he is being held in connection with the death of Xinran Ji, 24.

A spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed that an immigration detainer had been placed against DelCarmen. In a statement, spokeswoman Virginia Kice said ICE officials contacted DelCarmen at the jail Wednesday.

“ICE has lodged an immigration detainer against Mr. DelCarmen requesting that the Sheriff’s Department turn him over to ICE for possible follow-up immigration enforcement action if and when he is released from local custody,” Kice said.

There were no indications that DelCarmen had prior enforcement actions with the Department of Homeland Security, she added.

DelCarmen is one of four teenagers charged with capital murder in the July 24 assault that killed Ji, an engineering graduate student from China. Police said Ji was walking home from a study group about 12:45 a.m. when he was attacked near campus, just blocks away from his apartment.

Police and prosecutors say Ji was beaten with a bat and suffered a head injury. Detectives said they believe he may have tried to get away from his attackers, only to be beaten a second time, according to law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation.

Despite his injury, Ji managed to make it home to his apartment, where, police said, a roommate found his body later that morning.

DelCarmen and three others -- identified as Andrew Garcia, 18; Alberto Ochoa, 17; and Alejandra Guerrero, 16 -- were charged Tuesday in connection with Ji’s death. The murder charge carries a special circumstance allegation that Ji was killed during an attempted robbery, allowing prosecutors the option of seeking the death penalty against DelCarmen and Garcia.

Because of their ages, Ochoa and Guerrero will not face the death penalty, but prosecutors said they could be sentenced to life in prison without parole if convicted. California law allows prosecutors the discretion in certain crimes -- including murder -- to charge a minor as an adult. The U.S. Supreme Court, however, has ruled that minors are not eligible for capital punishment.

The Times generally does not name juvenile suspects unless they are charged as an adult, as they have been in this case.

After attacking Ji near campus, prosecutors say, the suspects drove to Dockweiler State Beach, where Garcia, Ochoa and Guerrero approached a man and a woman. Officials said the three robbed the woman, but the man escaped and flagged down police officers who were patrolling the area.

A criminal complaint alleges that the three again used a bat at the beach, and that Ochoa and Guerrero also used a knife.

Garcia, Ochoa and Guerrero were charged with second-degree robbery, attempted second-degree robbery and assault with a deadly weapon in connection with that incident.

The attack on Ji comes two years after two USC graduate students -- also from China -- were shot and killed during a botched robbery near campus.

In a statement issued through a family friend, Ji’s parents said they were “deeply concerned about other students at USC.” They commended police for the arrests but said they were “extremely angry about this horrific act of violence.”

“We do not want to see another incident like this,” Songbo Ji and Jinhui Du said in a statement written in Chinese. “No parents should have to bear this pain.”

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