San Diego Navy sailor's mom knew about, supported his spying for Chinese: Prosecutors

A San Diego sailor accused of selling military secrets to a Chinese intelligence officer will remain in custody, a judge ruled Tuesday.

Jinchao Wei, 22, also known as Patrick Wei, is one of two sailors based in California accused of accepting bribes in exchange for information concerning "the defense and weapon capabilities of U.S. Navy ships, potential vulnerabilities of these ships, and information related to ship movement," according to a grand jury indictment. Prosecutors have not said whether the two were courted or paid by the same Chinese intelligence officer as part of a larger scheme.

The indictment alleges that beginning last year, Wei transmitted "documents, sketches, plans, notes, and other information" to his Chinese handler, who allegedly instructed Wei to destroy any evidence substantiating their relationship. Some of the information he allegedly sent included technical data for the USS Essex and other amphibious assault ships.

On Tuesday in federal court, both sides argued their case for keeping Wei in custody and whether he posed a flight risk.

Defense attorney Jason Conforti told U.S. Magistrate Judge Michelle Pettit that Wei is not a danger to the community and no longer has access to any military information.

In arguing against his release, Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred Sheppard told the court that Wei's only relative in the United States is his mother, who was aware of her son's arrangement and encouraged him to keep helping the Chinese intelligence officer because it might get him a job someday with China's Communist party after he leaves the U.S. Navy.

Sheppard said prosecutors would move to keep Wei detained on grounds of being a flight risk and a danger to the community.

Sheppard told the court that the intelligence officer offered to fly Wei and his mother to China to meet them in person, and that Wei searched online for flights to China shortly before his arrest.

Wei, who was assigned as a machinist's mate on the USS Essex, was arrested last week at Naval Base San Diego as he was arriving for work.

U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman said Wei's prosecution represents the first time an espionage-related charge has been filed against someone in the Southern District of California.

Wei, who was ordered detained last week, appeared in court Tuesday afternoon for a hearing regarding his custodial status. Conforti said his client would stipulate to remaining in custody for now until he received more evidence from the prosecution.

Sheppard argued the information Wei allegedly provided the Chinese officer made him a danger to the community at large and "certainly a danger to the thousands of sailors who are on those ships and transported by those ships."

Wei also allegedly told a fellow sailor he was being recruited by an intelligence agency for "quite obviously (expletive) espionage," according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The prosecutor said the Chinese officer approached Wei before he was assigned to the Essex and sought information and photographs of ship movements out of San Diego ports.

Prosecutors allege Wei also provided the Chinese officer with photographs of military hardware and details about an upcoming maritime warfare exercise involving U.S. Marines.

On Tuesday, Sheppard said some of that information included details on living conditions aboard the Essex, manuals for its weapons systems, and information regarding its onboard communications.

Wei's arrest coincided with the arrest last week of another U.S. Navy sailor based out of Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme.

That sailor, Petty Officer Wenheng Zhao, 26, was also ordered held on Tuesday and faces similar accusations of sending sensitive military information to a Chinese intelligence officer, including operational plans for a large- scale U.S. military exercise in the Indo-Pacific Region.

Both men allegedly received thousands of dollars for the information they're accused of passing along, but officials declined to comment on whether both sailors were communicating with the same intelligence officer.