The surviving kidnapper from an abduction in Chino Hills last week that ended with deputies killing the kidnapper’s accomplice, moments after the victim had been executed, is being charged with murder, San Bernardino County prosecutors announced Monday.
Jianquan Bo, 66, who helped his brother kidnap the victim, was charged with the murder of 60-year-old Shukur Aikebaer, a father of three daughters and former business associate of Bo’s older brother.
In filing the charges, prosecutors also charged Bo with special circumstance that the crime was committed during a commission of a kidnapping, according to San Bernardino County Dist. Atty. Jason Anderson.
Prosecutors allege that on Wednesday night, Bo and his older brother, Zhengfeng Bo, 67, drove more than 30 miles from their Irvine home to the 2100 block of Monteverde Drive in Chino Hills, where they shot Aikebaer and stuffed him in the trunk of their silver Nissan Altima.
The brothers then led sheriff deputies on a high-speed chase for more than a mile before stopping in the 2400 Block of Wandering Ridge Drive, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
Surveillance footage obtained by a local TV station shows the moments after the suspect’s stopped their vehicle and deputies ordered them out of the vehicle, apparently unaware a kidnapping victim was trapped in the trunk. In the video, a man that is believed to be Zhengfeng Bo is seen initially complying with police before returning to the driver’s seat, appeared to grab something, then walked back to the trunk and pointing into the trunk before he falls to the ground. Authorities say Bo shot Aikebaer, who was in the trunk, before deputies opened fire and killed him.
Bo and Aikebaer were pronounced dead at the scene.
Jianquan Bo, who was in the passenger seat, was not injured in the shooting and was taken into custody.
A preliminary investigation by homicide detectives with the San Bernardino County Sheriff Department determined that the Aikebaer was home with his family when there was a power outage, prompting to go outside where he was confronted by the two brothers.
They also said Zhengfeng Bo and Aikebaer knew each other “through a prior working relationship.”
In an interview with The Times, Michael Chen, who had been representing Bo in a legal dispute over a $20-million apartment complex in Pasadena, said his client and Aikebaer were business associates at Panshi Inc., an Irvine-registered commercial real estate firm.
Public records list Bo as chief executive officer and Aikebaer as chief financial officer and secretary.
Chen said Bo, Panshi and another associate had loaned more than $2 million to the developers of an apartment complex, prompting lawsuits over unpaid debts and control of the property.
On Monday, Chen filed another claim against the developers, The Madison Collection LLC, seeking to oust its property managers and transfer control to Panshi.
The Madison Collection had been stonewalling these efforts for months, according to the lawsuit, refusing to turn over books and bank accounts.
Chen said Aikebaer had served as the “middleman” between Panshi and the developers, and until the day of the shooting, he believed the two men had a good relationship. There was nothing “adversarial” about it, he said.
“But obviously, something happened,” he said. “Maybe some information came to light that prompted [Bo] to take this action.”
Times staff writer Jack Dolan contributed to this report.
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