Xiaosong Wang sits between an interpreter and his attorney.
Family of two men shot and killed last year cried as they asked for a severe sentence for the shooter.
Xiaosong Wang, 64, Bowling Green, was transported from jail Thursday to the courtroom of Wood County Common Pleas Judge Joel Kuhlman.
What was supposed to be a sentencing hearing became an opportunity for family members of Zhichun Huang and Bing Luan Lin to speak with the help of an interpreter.
Wang was indicted in September 2023 for two counts of aggravated murder, two counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder, three counts of felonious assault, and two counts of possessing criminal tools.
The Bowling Green Police Division responded to 528 Monroe Court on Sept. 17, 2023, shortly after midnight after receiving multiple 911 calls about gunshots.
Zhichun Huang, 36, and Bing Luan Lin, 40, both of Bowling Green, died from their injuries. They were owners of the Bowling Green restaurant Ninja Hibachi Sushi Steak House.
Wang was a former employee at the restaurant.
Wang said at an August hearing he would plead guilty to all charges as long as there was a possibility of parole. At that time, he said the deaths were an accident.
Wang has indicated he wished to withdraw his guilty pleas.
The mother of Zhichun Huang had to be held back when Wang entered the courtroom and again before she gave her impact statements.
She said her son had no grudge with Wang, but his life was taken anyway.
“We lost our only son,” she said. “Our whole family was very, very sad.”
Zhichun Huang leaves behind three young children, she said.
Wang has “no heart at all,” she said, and asked for a long sentence.
“In one night, out children lost their father, I lost my husband, and his parents lost their son,” said Bing Luan Lin’ wife.
“Now our family is broken,” she said.
She said their children lost the love of their father and just that day asked where he had gone to. They were told he went to a place far, far away, she said.
She also asked for a sentence that would provide justice for the decease.
“My son was brutally murdered by a killer. We are very, very heartbroken,” said Bing Luan Lin’s father
“I hope you sentence the killer to long sentences,” he said.
Renshuang Qiu, who worked with Wang, was in the Monroe Court home and was shot by the defendant.
He said he was downstairs when he heard gunshots and saw Wang in another employee’s room.
Wang said nothing “before he shot me … and hit my shoulder.”
Renshuang Qiu said Wang chased him out the back door and shot at him several more times, all misses.
“To a killer like this, so heartless and so cruel, he must be punished by law severely,” he said.
A hearing on the motion to withdraw the plea will be held Dec. 2. Sentencing could follow.
According to previous statements made by Wood County Prosecutor Paul Dobson, Wang had been informed by the restaurant owners that he was being fired after an altercation with another employee. The restaurant owners had purchased the Monroe Court home, which was used as living quarters for restaurant staff.
When one of the owners tried to give Wang his final check and evict him from the premises, Wang objected and tried to enter the house. When he was pushed back, he drew one of two guns he had in his pockets and shot the owner. He then turned and shot the second owner several times as he stood in his bedroom, according to Dobson.
Wang then moved through the house and shot at least two more times, wounding a co-worker, before he proceeded outside and fired more rounds.
