A B.C. man has been convicted of first-degree murder in a case where Richmond diners found themselves in a spray of bullets on Sept. 18, 2020.
Richard Charles Reed sat quietly in the prisoner’s box in B.C. Supreme Court on Sept. 4 as Justice Jeanne Watchuk made her way through an 80-plus page ruling.
She convicted him in the death of Jian Jun Zhu as well as on charges of reckless discharge of a firearm and possession of a prohibited firearm.
Watchuk found Reed not guilty on charges of the attempted murder of Paul King Jin and possession of a firearm with the serial number removed.
CCTV footage shown in the trial showed diners at Richmond’s Manzo sushi restaurant scrambling for cover as a person blasted several rounds of bullets through a large window, ultimately killing alleged professional money launderer Zhu and injuring his associate Jin.
“Zhu’s cause of death was a single bullet wound to the back of his head,” Watchuk said.
She said much of the eyewitness testimony and CCTV evidence tendered was consistent in identifying the shooter.
“I find that Mr. Reed was the person who was the shooter who killed Mr. Zhu,” Watchuk said.
“Mr. Reed intended to cause the death of Mr. Zhu,” she said.
“I find Mr. Reed guilty of first-degree murder.”
The judge said one witness at the restaurant described hearing “pop, pop, pop” as the shots were fired. That led to people yelling, screaming and leaving the restaurant.
Watchuk said police gathered up seven shell casings outside the restaurant and found two bullet jackets inside. She said they were fired from the same gun, a .45-calibre Norinco semi-automatic pistol (exhibit 33), “which was the murder weapon.” Such a weapon was found in Reed’s bedroom, the court heard.
Also found was a loaded magazine with a fingerprint from Reed. She said the print was left in the manner one would use in loading the weapon.
“I conclude that Mr. Reed knew the firearm was under his bed,” Watchuk said. “His left thumb print was on a loaded magazine that fit exhibit 33.”
“Mr. Reed had knowledge, possession and control of the firearm,” she said.
Watchuk said three other men were involved in giving Reed information about the restaurant as well as assisting in getting rid of clothing.
The case now moves forward to sentencing with a return date of Sept. 17 to discuss sentencing submissions timing.
Defence lawyer Kevin Westell requested a race and cultural impact assessment report on his client.
Inside the restaurant
Police called it a “brazen shooting.”
Inside the restaurant, at Garden City Road and Capstan Way, footage showed Jin and Zhu often seated together with a woman and two men. Court heard they also mingled between three tables with about four other middle-aged East Asian men and at least two large South Asian men, whom they drank shots with.
Close to 7:32 p.m., just after the sun had set, footage showed Zhu seated with the woman until the window next to him exploded and people ducked for cover. Zhu’s body then lay lifeless on a cushioned bench.
Standing nearby was Jin, who was then seen covering the side of his face with a white cloth. The woman could be seen crawling out from under the table.
Footage showed several patrons, including at least one child, ducking for cover or exiting the building.
For about five minutes, the Jin party crouched low but also appeared to be collecting cellphones left on the tables.
Jin left the restaurant at 7:36 p.m. in a white Tesla Model X, escorted out by one of two South Asian men, who had tattoo sleeves and wore identical black bandanas.
At 7:43 p.m., a restaurant employee went near Zhu’s body, looked around and left.
At 7:50 p.m., Zhu’s body was still alone until two RCMP officers arrived with guns drawn. One officer appears to check Zhu’s pulse and leaves the body.
About 20 minutes prior to the shooting, prosecutors showed a Black man in a striped black and white hoodie walking around the restaurant premise and ultimately going inside four minutes before the shooting.
Prosecutors said the man in the hoodie was Reed and the defence counsel did not dispute that.
Watchuk said on the evening of the shooting, Reed called a friend to give him a ride from Vancouver to his mother’s home in Richmond. The friend, Mohammad Elburai, told the court that, when he picked Reed up, the latter told him to look at the news. Elburai soon found the shooting news.
He said Reed showed him a telephone picture of Jin with blood on his face.
Elburai said Reed had a bulge in his clothing that could have been a gun but Watchuk did not accept that evidence.
Money laundering
Zhu was previously investigated through a high-profile "E-Pirate" probe into alleged money laundering through his illegal money service business Silver International, in Richmond. The business allegedly catered to local, Mexican and Chinese organized crime rings.
According to civil forfeiture filings, Jin allegedly used Silver International, which was alleged to have laundered upwards of $220 million annually.
Jin was also a key investigation subject of “E-Nationalize,” another RCMP investigation that produced no criminal charges.
The E-nationalize case was dropped by Crown because police did not present predicate criminal offences of the alleged laundered money and disclosure of a vast amount of materials; often in Mandarin, the materials posed challenges to the prosecution, according to special prosecutor Christopher Considine KC, who had been hired by then attorney general David Eby to reassess the case.
With files from Graeme Wood
