SANTA ANA, Calif. — A Las Vegas man charged with killing one man and injuring five others at a Laguna Woods church made his first in-person appearance in an Orange County courtroom Friday, nearly a month after allegedly carrying out a rampage that authorities say was driven by yearslong hatred of Taiwanese people.
David Wenwei Chou is charged with special circumstances murder for allegedly lying in wait before killing Dr. John Cheng on May 15, along with five counts of attempted murder for other parishioners who were wounded and four counts of unlawful possession of explosives for bringing what authorities called “Molotov cocktail-like devices” to Geneva Presbyterian Church.
Chou, wearing a jail uniform and a mask, appeared alert as he stood in a holding cage within a Santa Ana courtroom.