Shelles Allen’s parents worry that they will never see justice as the man accused of killing his daughter disappears.
On the night of October 17th, police say that 21-year-old Chinese citizen Yuyansan was circled with an SUV in the sand lit by nearby Santa Monica Pier as he ran around Allen, who may have been sleeping on the beach. The Taiyo was questioned at the scene and was eventually booked for drunken driving and vehicle manslaughter charges.
Shelles Allen’s family said she has always been attracted to California, particularly the coast. “She’s relieved there,” said her father, Antron Allen.
(From the Allen family)
Los Angeles County prosecutors later raised the murder charge, but for Allen’s family it was pretty much a comforting experience.
A few days after relatives detained Sun’s $25,000 bond and released him from custody, authorities lost his trajectory and issued a warrant for his arrest. He did not hand over his passport or register it on an ankle monitor, as ordered by the court. Authorities say he may have returned to China.
“We didn’t have a daughter yet and he was already up,” Allen’s mother, Eugenia Tate, told The Times in an interview. “He really didn’t bring about any consequences for what he did.”
Experts familiar with the extradition process said Sun will need a monumental effort to return to US court.
“I don’t want to sound like Mission Impossible, but that’s what they’re seeing,” said David Weinstein, a former federal prosecutor who has committed multiple extradition cases in the Southern District of Florida.
Weinstein said getting fugitives to return from non-attacking countries such as China is extremely complicated and involves the work of federal agencies and diplomats.
The US can ask to warn fugitives whether they will travel abroad, but there’s little else to do, Weinstein said. Both scenarios involving China and Americans being banished by Americans who try to arrest him to accuse Allen of the death are unrealistic, he said.
When Sun was first arrested, prosecutors said they were worried he could escape, so they raised his bail to $100,000 and asked the court to order him to wear an ankle monitor. However, his bail was set at $25,000, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
It is unclear exactly when the Sun left the United States.
“We will continue to seek justice from the victim and her family and will continue to work tirelessly to hold the defendant accountable,” the District Attorney’s Office said in a statement. “Our office may consult with and provide information as needed, but after a California court issues a handover warrant, the extradition process will be handled by a federal agency.”
Allen’s family awaits development on the international front, but they continue to grieve.
Shelles Moniqua Allen, or “rese,” has always been drawn to California, particularly the coast, as her family called her, her family said.
Like many others, she saw endless possibilities in Golden State and found sanctuaries on the beach, her father Antron Allen said.
“She’s relieved there,” he said. “She did not harm anyone. It was one of her comfortable places on the beach.”
Before Allen was identified, police said she was homeless. However, Allen’s family said she lived in an apartment about two miles from the beach and worked as a customer service representative for the US Postal Service.
Her parents said they plan to visit her last November, a total visit for Thanksgiving and her 35th birthday. Instead, they arranged her funeral.
“One day is worse than the other day. We think about our daughter every day,” Eugenia Tate said as her voice broke with emotion.
Parents draw power from their friends, family, their Christian faith, and the knowledge that their daughter is an honest person who has always tried to do the right thing. Allen was usually shy, but her family said if she was surrounded by the right people, she would sing, dance and joke.
When she was young she sang with her sister, Shiny.
One song was a special favorite. The theme song for “The Golden Girls” includes “Thank you for being friends.”
“Why are you singing that old lady’s song to a new baby?” her mother asks.
Her daughter will laugh and say, “Because it will heal her.”
On March 18, Allen’s family filed a claim against the city of Santa Monica, the predecessor of the lawsuit.
The family is seeking $10 million for the pain and suffering, funeral costs and other expenses that stem from Allen’s death.
The city did not respond to requests for comment.
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