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.
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.
[…]
