Sacramento man handed prison sentence in 2018 murder of a marijuana grow operator

A Sacramento man was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the 2018 murder of an indoor marijuana grow operator, according to prosecutors.

David Saechao and his uncle Lai Saechao broke into a house on the 6300 block of Burns Way to steal marijuana grow equipment and found Guofang Wang home and assaulted him, according to a Friday news release from the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office.

David and Lai Saechao beat and strangled Wang after Wang bit David Saechao and scratched Lai Saechao, according to officials.

The defendants were convicted in December 2019.

According to previous Bee reporting, the DA’s crime lab analyzed blood at the crime scene and Wang’s fingernail scrapings and positively matched the DNA to the killers. At the time of his arrest in the homicide, David Saechao was in custody on charges from a separate burglary.

Lai Saechao also was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, on Jan. 17, 2020, the news release stated.

This story was originally published March 5, 2022 at 3:03 PM.