SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY, Calif. — A man accused of hitting and killing a Stockton karate instructor in the parking lot of a grocery store in May 2020 was convicted of murder.
The San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office announced 37-year-old Dontae Alfonso Wilburn’s conviction through a news release Thursday.
“The defendant in this case made a conscious decision to take the life of a husband, father, and friend to many. This kind of conduct has no place in our community,” said District Attorney Tori Verber Salazar. “Our thoughts are with Rodney Hu’s family and friends as they navigate through the holidays without their loved one.”
Wilburn will be sentenced on Jan. 30, 2023.
CASE HISTORY
The district attorney’s office says Wilburn got into an argument with Rodney Hu.
Wilburn then hit, ran over and intentionally killed Hu in the parking lot of a Food Source grocery store off Hammer Lane.
Hu owned and operated the Rodney Hu Goju Karate studio and was known for being a role model for other community members.
The district’s attorney’s office says finding and prosecuting Wilburn was due, in part, to the grocery store’s loss prevention team and witnesses who stayed at the scene and helped investigators.
