2 convicted in 2019 Oakland Starbucks laptop robbery that killed East Bay man

Wednesday, November 10, 2021
ALAMEDA, Calif. (KGO) -- A guilty verdict has been reached in the murder of Shuo Zeng, a man who was killed in 2019 while trying to retrieve his stolen laptop from an Oakland Starbucks, the Alameda County District Attorney's Office announced on Wednesday.

The jury found defendant Byron Reed guilty of second-degree murder of 34-year-old Zeng, who died on his birthday. Reed was convicted of robbery and causing great bodily injury.
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The jury also found co-defendant Kejuan Wiggins guilty of robbery and causing great bodily. On Wednesday, Wiggins was convicted of voluntary manslaughter.

Shuo Zeng was working at a Starbucks on Mountain Boulevard in Oakland's Montclair district in the morning of Dec. 31, 2019, when Wiggins snatched his laptop and fled into an awaiting vehicle.

Zeng chased after Wiggins and hung onto the getaway car before he was ejected to the ground, where he was run over by the car driven by Reed. A third suspect, Javon Lee, who served as a lookout, pleaded no contest to robbery before the trial began.

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According to the DA's office, Reed faces 15 to 30 years in prison and Wiggins 12 years. Lee faces between two and 10 years in prison. All three defendants are expected to be sentenced Jan. 7.



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