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Suspect in 2012 ‘execution-style’ murder at Orlando restaurant pleads not guilty

Calvin Washington, 34, charged with 2nd-degree murder with a firearm

Calvin Washington (Orange County Jail)

ORLANDO, Fla. – A man accused in the 2012 “execution-style killing” of an Orlando restaurant worker pleaded not guilty on Monday.

Prosecutors say new DNA evidence helped identify a suspect more than a decade after the crime.

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Calvin Washington, 34, appeared before a judge on a charge of second-degree murder with a firearm. His attorney entered a not guilty plea.

Investigators said Ying Sun, 53, was working inside the China Wok restaurant on Silver Star Road near Pine Hills Road in September 2012 when a masked gunman walked in and shot her execution-style.

Ying Sun (Orange County Sheriff's Office)

Washington was considered a person of interest at the time, but it took years to build a case that led to the new charge.

Authorities said DNA evidence recovered during the investigation — including from clothing, gloves and money — ultimately linked Washington to the killing and an armed robbery connected to the case.

A judge set Washington’s trial tentatively for November. If convicted, he could face up to life in prison.

Washington is already serving a 30-year prison sentence in an unrelated case.