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☆ A California DA is 'disappointed' that doctor who drove a Tesla carrying his family off a cliff gets mental health diversion instead of a trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-27 | by ( Natalie Musumeci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. A San Mateo County judge on June 20 granted Dharmesh Patel's request to participate in a mental health diversion program, which would allow him to avoid a trial on charges of attempted murder. AdvertisementThe ability to participate in diversion programs — for juveniles, veterans, or defendants struggling with mental health diagnoses or substance abuse struggles — is an increasingly popular alternative to jail sentences across the US. Wagstaffe told BI the charges against Patel have now been suspended and if he successfully completes the two years of the diversion program, the charges would be automatically dismissed. Under California law, defendants are ineligible for the diversion program if they have been charged with other offenses, including murder, involuntary manslaughter, and rape."

Persons: —, Tesla, Dharmesh, Steve Wagstaffe, Patel, Susan Jakubowski's, Jakubowski, Wagstaffe, Gavin Newsom Organizations: Service, Business, GPS, California Legislature Locations: California, Mateo County, San Mateo County, Northern California

☆ The doctor who drove his Tesla off a cliff with his family inside says he was pulling over to check his tire pressure, but his wife says he was trying 'to kill everyone:' report
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The doctor accused of driving his family off a cliff told officials he was checking his tire pressure. But his wife said the crash was intentional, per The San Francisco Chronicle citing court documents. All four family members in the car, including the couple's 7-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son miraculously survived the steep fall. But Patel's wife, Neha Patel, told first responders "multiple times" that her husband intentionally drove the car off the cliff, the outlet reported, citing court records. In February, an attorney for Patel said in court that the man's wife did not want him to be prosecuted.

☆ California farm worker pleads not guilty to 7 murder counts
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Steve Gorman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The next hearing in the case was set for May 3, the district attorney, Steve Wagstaffe, confirmed to Reuters. Zhao is charged with seven counts of premeditated murder and a single count of attempted murder in a criminal complaint that also cites "special circumstance" allegations accusing him of "personally and intentionally" shooting to kill. read moreUnder California law, defendants convicted of murder with "special circumstances" are eligible for the death penalty, though Governor Gavin Newsom in 2019 declared a moratorium on executions. Authorities said the Monterey Park assailant, Huu Can Tran, 72, shot himself to death the next day as police closed to make an arrest. Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles Editing by Alistair Bell and Aurora EllisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ The wife of the doctor accused of driving his family off a cliff in a Tesla doesn't want him to be prosecuted. A domestic violence expert says this kind of behavior isn't uncommon.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Natalie Musumeci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The wife of a man accused to driving his family off a cliff in a Tesla doesn't want him prosecuted. A domestic violence expert told Insider this type of behavior in victims is not uncommon. Prosecutors handling the case are treating it like a domestic violence case, a local DA said. A domestic violence expert and the local district attorney handling the case told Insider on Tuesday this type of behavior in victims is not uncommon. San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe told Insider that his office is "viewing" the case as a domestic violence case.

☆ Wife of doctor accused of driving his Tesla off a cliff with his family inside shouted to rescuers 'he intentionally drove the car over' edge, DA alleges
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Natalie Musumeci | Grace Eliza Goodwin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The wife of a man accused of driving a Tesla off a cliff said he "intentionally" did it, the DA said. The woman shouted to medics that her husband "intentionally drove the car over," the DA said. "She just said to the paramedics that he intentionally drove the car over the cliff," Wagstaffe said. He is accused of intentionally driving a Tesla off a notorious 250-foot cliff in Northern California with his wife and two young kids inside on January 2. The district attorney's office has not yet spoken to the suspect's wife, who remains hospitalized, said Wagstaffe.

☆ $100 repair bill sparked Half Moon Bay shooting, prosecutor says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

SAN FRANCISCO — A farmworker charged with killing seven people at two Half Moon Bay mushroom farms reportedly told investigators he was spurred to carry out the shootings after his supervisor demanded he pay $100 to repair a forklift damaged at work. KNTV-TV, the NBC affiliate in the San Francisco Bay Area, was first to report the development. Zhao told KNTV-TV in a courthouse interview Thursday that he committed the shootings. He said he has a 40-year-old daughter in China and lived with his wife in Half Moon Bay. The coroner’s office has named six of the victims: Zhishen Liu, 73, of San Francisco; Marciano Martinez Jimenez, 50, of Moss Beach, California; Aixiang Zhang, 74, of San Francisco; Qizhong Cheng, 66, of Half Moon Bay; Jingzhi Lu, 64, of Half Moon Bay; and Yetao Bing, 43, whose hometown was unknown.

☆ Tesla driver taken from hospital to jail without bail after being accused of intentionally driving his family off a cliff
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A man accused of intentionally driving off a cliff was moved from a hospital to jail, local news reported. The San Mateo District Attorney's Office said the driver was booked without bail. Authorities are seeking to rule out any mechanical issues with the Tesla, including brake failure. The San Mateo District Attorney's Office did not respond to a request for comment from Insider ahead of publication. The San Mateo County Sheriff's Office said in a tweet on January 2 that the children were "unharmed" at the time of rescue.

☆ Driver in California cliff crash that injured his two young children and his wife moved from hospital to jail
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

MONTARA, Calif. — The driver of a car that plunged 250 feet off a treacherous cliff in northern California, injuring his two young children and his wife, was released from the hospital and jailed on suspicion of attempted murder and child abuse, authorities said Friday. The office didn’t indicate when he was released from the hospital. The Pasadena man was seriously injured when the Tesla sedan went over the cliff at Devils Slide, along the Pacific Coast Highway on Jan. 2. Firefighters were forced to cut the family, including Patel’s 41-year-old wife, 7-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son, out of the wreckage. Patel was later arrested after California Highway Patrol investigators “developed probable cause to believe this incident was an intentional act,” the agency said.

☆ Suspect in Half Moon Bay Killings Charged With Seven Counts of Murder
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Talal Ansari | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The man accused of killing seven people in two Northern California shootings earlier this week has been charged with seven counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. District Attorney for San Mateo County Steve Wagstaffe filed the charges Wednesday against the alleged gunman, Chunli Zhao.

Northern California prosecutors on Wednesday filed seven murder charges and one attempted murder charge against the man accused of gunning down farm workers Monday in the quaint oceanside town of Half Moon Bay. The San Mateo County Coroner's Office has named six of the seven victims: Zhishen Liu, 73, of San Francisco; Marciano Martinez Jimenez, 50, of Moss Beach; Aixiang Zhang, 74, of San Francisco; Qizhong Cheng, 66, of Half Moon Bay; Jingzhi Lu, 64, of Half Moon Bay; and Yetao Bing, 43, whose hometown was listed as unknown. Chunli Zhao being arrested on Monday in the parking lot of the Sheriff’s Office Half Moon Bay as a suspect for the mass shooting earlier that day. Zhao worked at Mountain Mushroom Farm, one of two agricultural businesses where workers were killed on Monday afternoon, authorities said. Zhao was arrested about two hours after the shooting as he sat in his parked car outside the sheriff's substation in Half Moon Bay.

The slayings of seven people, gunned down in a small Northern California city, was an act of "workplace violence" that victimized members of the "migrant community," officials said Tuesday. Suspect Chunli Zhao, a 66-year-old resident of Half Moon Bay, worked at Mountain Mushroom Farm, one of two agricultural businesses where workers were killed on Monday afternoon, authorities said. Zhao was arrested in the parking lot of a sheriff’s substation in Half Moon Bay shortly after the attacks. “Jill and I are praying for those killed and injured in the latest tragic shooting in Half Moon Bay, California,” President Joe Biden said in a White House statement issued Tuesday. The Half Moon Bay slayings were in the middle of a horrific 72-hour period of gun violence across California and the nation.

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