Bay Area man accused of murdering woman found in trash bin may be free on bail this week

A Merced Superior Court judge on Tuesday agreed to reset bail for a San Francisco man who is accused of murdering a Chinese woman involved in human trafficking and dumping her body in an alley trash bin in Merced.

William Li, 50, entered a not guilty plea after a lengthy bail hearing in which Judge Ronald W. Hansen set his bail at $1 million with conditions that he wear an electronic monitor, check in with probation weekly and submit all the electronics in his home, on his person and at his work to searches and seizures. He must also surrender his passport to the court, stay in California and appear in person for all court dates.

Li’s defense attorney, Jeffrey A. Tenenbaum, said Li could be out of jail by the end of the week.

Lijun Wang’s body was found in a trash bin alleyway in the 3100 block of G Street on Feb. 6. Police said the 30-year-old came to the U.S. about a year earlier and became entangled with a human trafficking ring operating, at least in part, out of the Bay Area in California. Li, police said, is believed to be connected to the trafficking group, but in what capacity remains unclear.

Tuesday wasn’t the first time Li’s bail amount was changed.

Li was arrested April 14 in San Mateo and transported to Merced County Jail. The next week, his bail was set at $1 million during a court hearing. On April 21, Merced police Detective Joe Deliman requested a judge revoke Li’s bail option, saying Li was a flight risk.

Deputy District Attorney Ilia McKinney argued in court Tuesday that Li should not be able to post bail.

“This defendant is going to be gone and never seen again,” she said. “This woman who was murdered and thrown away in the dumpster like a piece of trash will never get justice.”

McKinney argued that since Li was born in China and was involved in a human trafficking ring, it would be easy for him to get a large sum of bail money and pass through borders, even without a passport. McKinney noted a pediatrician charged with molesting three autistic patients in Merced remains in Bolivia.

But Tenenbaum said there was no legal authority for Li’s bail to be reset to no bail in the first place.

“What is the legal authority to modify another judge’s order?” he said. “I’m unaware of any legal authority that any police officer can circumvent the process. How can you ever have a meaningful arraignment? ... There’s no provision in the penal code for what happened.”

Tenenbaum said Li’s family scraped together savings and credit cards to post $80,000 bond to free Li. But, when they showed up at the jail, there was confusion because of the order to reset Li’s bail.

Representatives from Aladdin Bail Bonds said at the arraignment they collected $50,000 from seven credit cards, $30,000 in cash and two properties from Li’s family members.

Hansen said Tuesday’s hearing was a chance to start at “square one” with a “clean slate” and granted bail be reset with the conditions.

Both McKinney and Tenenbaum agreed Hansen’s decision was fair.

“We want to make sure we get justice for Lijun, especially considering the callous nature in which Mr. Li tried to cover up the crime,” McKinney told the Sun-Star. “We want to make sure he’s held accountable.”

“I will receive all the reports over the next several months,” Tenenbaum said. “They’re all allegations at this point. It will take some time to review the documents.”

Li is due back in court in June for a preliminary hearing.

This story was originally published May 2, 2017 at 5:03 PM with the headline "Bay Area man accused of murdering woman found in trash bin may be free on bail this week."