Not guilty plea for 7 Half Moon Bay homicides

The gag order means the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office, the defense and police cannot discuss the case with media aside from court proceedings and court dates, although Lee denied a defense motion to prohibit photo and video coverage of the proceedings, according to the DA’s Office. 

Zhao was indicted by a criminal grand jury on seven charges of first-degree murder and one charge of attempted first-degree murder Jan. 19. 

The arraignment comes a little over a month since the Jan. 23 one-year anniversary of the shootings that occurred at two separate mushroom farms — one of which was a previous workplace of Zhao. 

The case drew attention not only for being such a uniquely disturbing event for the roughly 11,000-person coastal community, but it also triggered investigations into the already-vulnerable living conditions of many of the area’s farmworkers, which have since been described as “deplorable” and “substandard at best.” Officials have described the incident as a workplace-motivated shooting over the suspect’s perceived mistreatment. 

San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said the decision was made to move forward with the grand jury after continuous delays, in large part due to the defense attorneys’ need for additional time to prepare. While he understands the defense’s request, Wagstaffe said that, after a full year, the surviving victim and victims’ families deserve to see the case move forward.