A 23-year-old man will be sentenced to 22 years in state prison next month for the murder of Thai Khin — the 17-year-old Cesar Chavez High School student who was shot and killed at Unity Park in 2023.
Guillermo Lopez Jr., who was 19 at the time of Khin’s death, appeared in court Sept. 28, before San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Chrishna Martinez, for a resolution in the case.
Amanda Meays, Khin’s mother, sat in the courtroom gallery as the details of Lopez’s deal were discussed.
During the hearing, Lopez entered a plea of no contest to robbery and voluntary manslaughter. He also admitted to an enhancement of the personal use of a firearm.
On April 12, 2023, Khin was attempting to break up a fight during a robbery while he and his friend were
at Unity Park in Stockton, according to Khin’s family.
The family said the alleged robbers were after Thai’s friend's gold necklace, and when the teenager tried to step in to help his friend, he was shot.
Khin was found at the park suffering from a gunshot wound and was rushed to a hospital, where he later died.
Thai’s friend, a 16-year-old, was pistol-whipped but survived.
As the factual basis of the incident was detailed in court Khin’s mother shed tears.
In 2025, just six days after what would have been Khin’s 19th birthday, Lopez was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Task Force in Hayward.
Lopez was advised that the sentence carried two serious violent strikes. He will be paroled once he is released, according to Martinez.
Lopez is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 16.
Record reporter Victoria Franco covers public safety in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at vfranco@gannett.com. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record athttps://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.
This article originally appeared on The Record: Stockton man to get 22 years in killing of Cesar Chavez student Thai Khin
