USC student death: 4 suspects plead not guilty

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Four teenagers pleaded not guilty Tuesday morning to murder charges in the beating death of a USC graduate student from China.

Jonathan Del Carmen, 19, Andrew Garcia, 18, Alberto Ochoa, 17, and Alejandra Guerrero, 16, entered their pleas in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom.

Prosecutors allege the four brutally beat Xinran Ji, a 24-year-old engineering student returning home after a study group, at about 12:45 a.m. on July 24. Ji managed to walk back to his South Los Angeles apartment, where he was found dead later that morning.

Garcia, Ochoa and Guerrero were also charged with robbery and assault.

Outside the courtroom, Jorn Rossi stood with a sign demanding USC to do more to protect its students.

"They enroll more students than they know can live on the protected campus. They refer them to housing, maybe even own some of the housing, in the one or two blocks around the school, and they failed to protect these students," Rossi said.

Nick Sage from West Covina was also at this morning's arraignment.

"I am just here to support the victims, because this has been happening for the last several years and we are all concerned. Our personal safety is at risk," Sage said.

Two years ago, two other USC graduate students from China were shot to death near the school.

"Chinese people, we come here for learning. We don't come here for holiday. We spend so much money here, but I think some people should make sure we are safe," said Aina Fang, who is from China.

The judge ordered the suspects to remain in jail without bail. They are scheduled to be back in court for a preliminary hearing next month.