Teen girl detained after USC student's death charged with 7 felonies

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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)

2/17

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 Richard Winton

and Kate Mather

Aug. 7, 2014 2:31 PM PT

The 14-year-old arrested with four other teens after a USC student was beaten near campus has been charged with seven felonies in connection with a Dockweiler Beach robbery following the deadly assault, officials said.

The girl, who was not named by prosecutors because of her age, was charged with seven counts related to the July 24 robbery, according to Greg Risling, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

She faces charges of carjacking, one count of second-degree robbery, one count of attempted second-degree robbery, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and two counts of assault likely to cause great bodily injury during a robbery.

The teen was taken into custody July 24 after a robbery at Dockweiler Beach, Los Angeles police said. She was detained after two victims in the beach holdup contacted police, who spotted her and another teenage girl fleeing.

It was that arrest that eventually led to the capture of four other teenagers -- ages 16 to 19 -- in connection with the beating death of the USC grad student.

Those four were charged with murder in the death of Xinran Ji, a 24-year-old USC graduate student, who police and prosecutors said was beaten with a baseball bat as he walked home from a study group.

Evidence indicated he tried to get away from his attackers only to be assaulted a second time, according to law enforcement sources familiar with the case.

Despite a head injury, Ji managed to make it home to his apartment a few blocks away. His roommate found his body later that morning.

After the attack, prosecutors allege the teens drove to Dockweiler Beach where three of the defendants -- identified as Andrew Garcia, 18; Alberto Ochoa, 17; and Alejandra Guerrero, 16 -- approached a man and a woman. The teens allegedly robbed the woman, but the man escaped and flagged down police officers who were patrolling the area.

A criminal complaint alleges 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 fourth suspect charged with Ji’s murder -- Jonathan DelCarmen, 19 -- was believed to be driving the car that night, prosecutors said.

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 adults, as Ochoa and Guerrero have been in this case.

Follow @LAcrimes and @katemather for more coverage of this story and other crime news from across Southern California.

Teen girl detained after USC student’s death charged with 7 felonies

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