A man charged with gunning down his boss at a Chinese-language newspaper in Alhambra was arraigned Monday on a murder charge.
Zhong Qi Chen, 59, of El Monte, faces a potential maximum sentence of 50 years to life in prison if convicted of murder with allegations that he personally used a handgun and caused great bodily injury and death, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
Bail initially set at $6 million was reduced to $3 million for Chen, who pleaded not guilty. His next court date is Dec. 18 at the Alhambra courthouse.
Chen is accused of entering the offices of The China Press on West Mission Road at about 9:30 a.m. on Nov. 16 and shooting his boss, with whom he reportedly had some sort of dispute, the nature of which has not been disclosed. Yining Xie, 58, of Arcadia, died at the scene.
Chen was arrested on the spot and police said they recovered a handgun. Online jail records show that he was subsequently released, then re-arrested Nov. 20 on a warrant that was under seal until now, according to the District Attorney's Office.
