Lawyers for three men charged with conspiracy to commit murder will be reviewing evidence intercepts and recordings as they prepare work to defend their clients, a Vancouver provincial court judge heard Sept. 6.
Richard Charles Reed, Seyed Naveed Mohtashamian and Nicholas To are facing two counts each of that charge. Mahtashamian and Reed also face charges of attempting to obstruct justice.
The charges cover alleged offences in Port Coquitlam, Vancouver and Richmond. They are alleged to have conspired to kill a man between Jan. 2 and June 2, 2021.
Reed is also charged with eight counts of possessing a firearm without a registration certificate as well as attempted murder with a firearm and discharging a firearm. Those charges cover alleges offences in Vancouver and Richmond.
Reed was the only one of the three men present in court before Judge Patricia Bond. Clad in orange prison sweats, he stood in the glassed-in prisoner’s dock and watched proceedings with his arms crossed.
In November, Reed was charged with the first-degree murder of alleged professional money launderer Jian Jun Zhu following a shooting inside a Richmond restaurant on Sept. 18, 2020.
Zhu was shot to death in Manzo restaurant while dining with alleged money launderer Paul King Jin, who was injured by a bullet from the alleged attack.
Charges against Reed there include:
- first-degree murder
- aggravated assault
- discharging a restricted or prohibited firearm with intent
- reckless discharge of a prohibited or restricted firearm
- possession of a prohibited or restricted firearm with readily accessible ammunition and;
- possessing a firearm with an altered, defaced or removed serial number.
Reed is also facing sex-related charges.
