Chinese citizen pleads guilty to abduction, assault of Bellevue man as part of human smuggling ring
Dec 10, 2024, 9:45 AM | Updated: 9:57 am
A Bellevue Police Department cruiser. (Photo courtesy of Bellevue Police Department)
(Photo courtesy of Bellevue Police Department)
A Chinese national pleaded guilty Monday to charges of kidnapping and assaulting a Bellvue man.
Federal agents arrested Ji Wang at his home in Los Angeles on May 27, 2023, for his involvement in a human smuggling ring.
The Bellevue man allegedly worked to refer potential customers looking to illegally cross the southern border into the United States.
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Federal prosecutors say that the victim was working at a hot pot restaurant in Bellevue in 2023 when Wang, along with another man, traveled from Los Angeles to Washington to punish the victim for not collecting high enough fees from a group of people the victim helped arrange to be smuggled across the border.
Prosecutors said Wang and his colleague forced the man from his workplace and into an awaiting sedan. Moments later the physical punishment began. “The men beat the victim and smashed his face into the cement and dragged him down the stairs,” U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington Tessa Gorman said in a press release.
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Gorman said witnesses called Bellevue Police and officers got the victim’s girlfriend to place a video call to the victim’s cell phone. However, police said the suspect answered the phone instead and showed his face. Prosecutors say officers recorded that call and were able to identify Wang, who eventually dropped the victim off at a nearby service station.
“The victim was critically injured and needed emergency surgery for swelling of the brain,” Gorman said. “He has lasting physical and cognitive damage from the assault.”
More than two years after the assault, prosecutors say Wang entered into a plea agreement. During a sentencing hearing scheduled for March 5, 2025, prosecutors will recommend Wang serve eight years in prison. However, final sentencing will be up to the judge in the case. Prosecutors say Wang could be deported following his prison term.
Luke Duecy is a reporter for KIRO Newsradio.
