The Irvine man charged with murder and participating in a kidnapping in connection with the death of his brother’s Chino Hills business partner pleaded not guilty in Superior Court in Rancho Cucamonga on Tuesday, Aug. 4.
Judge Shannon L. Faherty entered the plea on behalf of 66-year-old Jianquan Bo, who did not speak.
Bo, assigned a Mandarin-speaking interpreter, was represented by the San Bernardino County Public Defender’s Office.
Bo is being held without bail at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga. The media outnumbered everyone else in the gallery of the second-floor courtroom.
(Emily McGinn, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Bo was the passenger in a car driven by brother Zhengfeng Bo, 67, to the Monteverde Drive home of 60-year-old Shukur Aikebaer on July 29, authorities say. The electricity went out at the home, and when Aikebaer went outside to the front of the home, one or both Bos shot him and put him in the trunk of their Nissan Altima, authorities said.
Deputies quickly arrived and stopped the car a mile-plus away. Jianquan Bo surrendered. But Zhengfeng Bo got out, opened the trunk and fired a shot inside at Aikebaer, authorities said. Deputies then shot Zhengfeng Bo to death.
The next day, deputies served a search warrant at the Bos’ home in Irvine.
District Attorney Jason Anderson said Monday that Jianquan Bo knew of the plan all along.
Investigators are examining a business relationship between Aikebaer and Zhengfeng Bo that went bad as a likely motive.
Zhengfeng Bo is listed as the chief executive officer of Panshi, a real estate and business development firm, with Aikebaer listed as its secretary, according to public records. Panshi was involved in a Pasadena apartment complex deal that soured, resulting in a pair of lawsuits.
Aikebaer is survived by his wife and three daughters.