ATTORNEY Matthew Holley has asked the local trial court to dismiss the information against his client, Lyuqin Yi, who was charged with accessory after the fact in the case of a man who died from injuries after being stabbed by her boyfriend several times on New Year’s Eve.
Yi, 53, is the girlfriend of Ling Yang Kong, 34, who police said fatally stabbed Zhongyi Li with a knife.
Last month the court found probable cause to charge the couple.
Kong was charged with 2nd degree murder, assault with a dangerous weapon, and assault & battery while Yi was charged with accessory after the fact.
In his motion to dismiss, Holley stated that his client is accused of hiding a knife used by Kong in violation of 6 CMC 202.
But hiding a knife that was used in a crime, in and of itself, is an insufficient basis to maintain a charge of accessory after the fact, Holley said.
“What is glaringly missing from the allegation against Ms. Yi as an accessory after the fact: that she assisted the offender when she hid the knife,” Holley added.
“In fact, just the opposite occurred. Unbeknownst to the co-defendant, Ms. Yi hid the knife from him, pulling it out of his back pocket.”
Further, “it is undisputed that Ms. Yi approached [Department of Public Safety] officers to cooperate, including showing them where the knife was, leading to its recovery by DPS.”
Most importantly, the lawyer added, “the information in this case fails to make any allegation that Ms. Yi hid the knife from the government, to that there can be no dispute.”
Holley reiterated that merely hiding a knife is an insufficient basis to maintain a charge of accessory after the fact.
He said the offense requires that Yi hid the knife “in order to hinder or prevent the offender’s apprehension, trial, or punishment.”
“Ms. Yi does not dispute the facts as alleged because she did hide the knife, albeit from defendant Ling Yang Kong, and not the government,” Holley said.
“If the language of the accusatory document describes the activity of the defendant in a way that can be interpreted as being either legal or illegal, then the language of such an accusatory instrument would not be sufficient to establish the intent element,” he added.
“Had the Commonwealth alleged she hid the knife from it, Ms. Yi would understand what is needed to prepare her defense. But as alleged, the charging document does not apprise her of what evidence she must be prepared to meet. Because the information has not put Ms. Yi on notice of the conduct for which she was charged, she cannot adequately defend herself,” her lawyer said.
The Public Defender’s Office represents her co-defendant in the case.
Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho on Tuesday scheduled an evidentiary hearing for Yi’s motion to dismiss for May 4 at 10 a.m.
The court did not impose bail on Kong, but imposed a $25,000 cash bail on Yi.
According to court documents, Kong waived his rights to have an attorney present and agreed to provide a statement to the police.
Through a translator, Kong told police that the victim, identified as Zhongyi Li, invited him for some drinks at a bar in Garapan.
Sometime after arriving at the bar, Kong said he got into an argument with the victim’s girlfriend.
Shortly after, Kong said he exited the bar to end the argument but the couple followed him outside.
He said after Zhongyi Li assaulted him and Kong’s girlfriend, Kong reached for the pocket knife in his back-right pocket, unfolded it and thrust it toward the victim.
He said he noticed that the knife got stuck in the body of the victim so he tried to thrust the knife again but not as hard.
Police said the victim suffered from multiple injuries to his upper body with lacerations on his head, neck, and upper torso and puncture wounds to his left rib cage.
The victim succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at the hospital on Jan. 1, 2022, at 6:35 a.m. due to multi-organ failure.
