| For Immediate Release Case # 12CF2594
September 4, 2012 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami
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MAN WHO FLED TO ARIZONA CHARGED WITH STABBING-MURDER OF GIRLFRIEND IN LAGUNA HILLS
SANTA ANA – A man who was arrested in Arizona after fleeing from Orange County has been charged with the stabbing-murder of his college girlfriend. Derek Henry Pinski, 24, Laguna Hills, is charged with one felony count of murder with a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a deadly weapon and faces a maximum sentence of 26 years to life in state prison if convicted. The defendant was arrested in Mesa, AZ, and will face extradition proceedings to be returned to Orange County to face charges. The Orange County District Attorney’s Office will be requesting the defendant be held on $1 million bail.
The defendant is accused of meeting his girlfriend, victim Alexandra Tang, while the two were students at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The 24-year-old victim was still living in Santa Barbara and was visiting Pinski in Laguna Hills at the time of the murder. The defendant lived in a home with his mother and a renter.
At approximately 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 1, 2012, Pinski is accused of murdering Tang by stabbing her multiple times inside the home. The defendant is accused of then fleeing the scene and driving to Arizona, where his father lives.
The defendant’s mother discovered the victim and called 911. Tang was pronounced dead at the scene. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD) is conducting an ongoing investigation.
OCSD notified other law enforcement agencies that Pinski may be fleeing to Arizona. The defendant was arrested at approximately 8:00 p.m. on Sept. 1, 2012, at his father’s home in Mesa, AZ, by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Department.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Ebrahim Baytieh of the Homicide Unit is prosecuting this case.
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