David Xu Seeks Dismissal of Felony Poisoning Conviction

David Xu, a former engineer at Berkeley Engineering and Research, completed two years of probation in March 2026 and is seeking dismissal of his felony poisoning conviction. A hearing on his petition was scheduled for October 12 in Alameda County Superior Court. The district attorney’s office opposed the request, and the available reports do not provide a ruling. Xu pleaded no contest in 2023 to one felony count of poisoning Rong Yuan, a former coworker. The agreement dropped an attempted-murder charge and another poisoning count. At sentencing in March 2024, Judge Kimberly Colwell ordered two years of probation and credited Xu for one day already spent in custody. She also ordered him to stay away from Yuan and her parents. The case drew renewed attention as Yuan released hidden-camera footage that she says helped uncover the contamination. Recordings dated February 11 and March 4, 2019, appear to show Xu reaching toward the area where Yuan kept her water bottle and, in the later video, pouring a substance into it. Yuan gave the recordings to police. According to reported testing, water from Yuan’s bottle contained cadmium at levels up to 3.