Remember Yuhao Du, a Ph.D. student at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), who shot and attacked the police two years ago?
In February this year, he reached a plea agreement with the prosecutor, originally thought that this plea agreement would greatly shorten his sentence, but he did not expect it to be a maximum punishment, and on April 23, the court held a sentencing hearing, Du Yuhao was sentenced to 22 years and 8 months in prison, and was sent back to China after completing his sentence.
Case review
Car accident robbery and shooting police case
The incident occurred at around 6 p.m. on April 27, 2022, when Du Yuhao, who was still studying for a Ph.D. in physics at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), was driving a car alone on Highway 8 and lost control and crashed into the side of the road when he reached the overpass at the junction with Highway 805.
This was an extremely simple single-vehicle accident, there were no casualties, and you only needed to contact the insurance company to assess the damage, but an unexpected incident occurred during the accident handling.
California Highway Patrol Officer Antonio "Tony" Pacheco arrived at the scene to deal with it, and Du Yuhao looked dazed, then suddenly attacked the police officer and snatched the officer's gun, in the process he pulled the trigger and concentrated Officer Pacheco's thigh.
Later, with the help of passers-by, Du Yuhao was subdued and the police were sent to the hospital for rescue.
After the incident, Du Yuhao's mother came to San Diego from China to bow and apologize to the injured policeman.
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Why Abandon Psychiatric Defense?
From the trial, it can be learned that Du Yuhao suffers from schizophrenia! This is mainly because he used to smoke laughing gas, and although he has stopped smoking it, he still has hallucinations in his brain, and he spent a few weeks before the incident in a number of psychiatric hospitals. When he was interrogated, he mentioned that while driving, a voice in his head urged him to crash the car.
After the accident, when Pacheco rushed to the scene to deal with it, he found that Du Yuhao's eyes were empty, and when he saw the police, he asked the police: "Can you kill me?"
The police officer who interrogated Du Yuhao also said in his testimony that Du Yuhao was interrogated for three hours that night and saw him with a blank look on his face.
After the incident, Du Yuhao's defense lawyer also defended him on the grounds of mental illness.
What is puzzling is that in February this year, the case took a big turn, and Du Yuhao gave up his defense, but reached a plea agreement with the prosecutor to sentence him for nearly 23 years.
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Why is the sentence so heavy?
In California, the sentence for first-degree murder (premeditated) is 25 years, and the sentence for second-degree murder (manslaughter) is 15 years, and Du Yuhao's sentence of 22 years and 8 months is much higher than that of second-degree murder and close to the sentence for first-degree murder, which is incredible.
Especially considering that Du Yuhao is clearly mentally ill. According to the testimony of the interrogating police, Du Yuhao was at a loss when he was interrogated, and he was not accompanied by a psychiatrist, so it is still questionable whether the interrogation materials in this mental state can be used as valid testimony?
But Du Yuhao was indeed sentenced to 22 years and eight months in prison! Du Yuhao, who is already 27 years old this year, will not be able to be released from prison at least 45 years old, even if the points for pretrial detention are included. The best years of my life will be spent in American prisons.
Starting from 2015 when he started studying in the United States as an undergraduate, with an annual tuition of at least $50,000, Du Yuhao spent 7 years from undergraduate to doctorate, and his parents spent at least $350,000 on tuition alone, but it turned out to be such an ending, which is really embarrassing.
I also hope that the majority of young international students, especially those in California, no one cares about marijuana, laughing gas, and psychedelics, and don't try it curiously, otherwise you may regret it for life.