How prosecutors decided on death penalty for Modesto defendant in Merced man’s shooting
Prosecutors have decided not to seek the death penalty in a case against a Modesto man accused of murder in the 2015 shooting of a Merced man.
Along with the murder charge, Christopher Schopp, 21, is charged with two counts of attempted robbery in the death of 24-year-old Vang Xiong.
If convicted of his charges and enhancements, Schopp would face a maximum sentence of life in prison without the chance of parole, according to John Goold, a spokesman for the Stanislaus County District Attorney's Office.
The charges against Schopp made the case eligible for the death penalty. But the District Attorney's Office decided not to seek that punishment, Goold said.
Schopp on Tuesday afternoon appeared in Stanislaus Superior Court for the first time since authorities found him in Vivian, La. Stanislaus County sheriff's officials last week received information that Schopp was hiding under an assumed name.
Detectives contacted the Caddo County Sheriff's Department and the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force, and Schopp was taken into custody. He was brought to Stanislaus County and booked at the jail Sunday.
The defendant did not enter a plea Tuesday. Goold said his arraignment was postponed until Oct. 10. Schopp remains in custody at the county jail with his bail set at $10 million.
Schopp faces enhancements to his charges that allege he committed the crimes with premeditation with one of the suspects using a gun during an attempted robbery, according to a filed criminal complaint. Xiong's brother is listed in the complaint as the other victim in the attempted robbery.
The deadly shooting occurred May 1, 2015, in an orchard along the 2600 block of West Whitmore Avenue, just south of Modesto. Sheriff's detectives at the time believed Schopp lured Xiong and his brother to the orchard about 7:15 p.m. for a drug deal.
Two armed men arrived with Schopp, and during the drug deal, one of the men shot Xiong, sheriff's officials have said. The suspects left in a vehicle.
Xiong's brother tried to drive the injured man to a hospital, but stopped to call for help in the area of Kansas Avenue and North Franklin Street, just east of Highway 99 in Modesto. An ambulance took Xiong to a local hospital; he later died from his wounds.
Schopp was identified as a suspect shortly after the shooting. Sheriff's officials this week said the two other suspects in the shooting have not been found.
This story was originally published September 27, 2017 at 3:54 PM with the headline "How prosecutors decided on death penalty for Modesto defendant in Merced man’s shooting."