OAKLAND (KRON) – Byron Reed and Javon Lee were charged Friday in connection to a laptop theft that left the victim, Shuo Zeng, dead after he chased after the suspects.

Javon Lee (left) and Byron Reed (right)

Reed, 22, and Lee, 21, are expected to be arraigned later today. Reed was charged with special circumstance murder and Lee was charged with involuntary manslaughter. Both are also facing a second degree robbery charge.

On New Years Eve at 11:37 a.m. Oakland police responded to a laptop theft at a Starbucks in the Montclair neighborhood in Oakland.

Shuo Zeng

It was revealed that three suspects approached Zeng, took his laptop and fled to a rented black BMW SUV.

Zeng chased the suspects and grabbed the door of the vehicle as they attempted to speed away. Zeng was then dragged and hit his head on a parked car.

According to police, firefighters were nearby and were quick to administer first aid, but Zeng died soon after being transported to a local hospital.

A memorial of flowers was erected at the location of the incident, with strangers and neighbors quick to pay respects to the young man.

34-year-old Zeng was from China, but came to the United States to go to graduate school at Kansas State University. After graduating, he then moved to the Bay Area in 2015 to work for IBM.

Michelle Geering, the physics department head at Kansas State University, remembered Zeng as a great student.

“As a student at Kansas State University, Shuo was well known and very well-liked by everyone in the department; the news of his death is shocking,” Geering said. “The world has lost a bright, friendly and wonderful person.”

The identity and location of the third suspect is unknown at this time.

This is a new development and the story will be updated as new information comes in.

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