A man convicted in the murder of a Richmond restaurant patron has been sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole for 25 years.
Trial judge Justice Jodie Watchuk convicted Richard Charles Reed of the Sept. 18, 2020, first-degree shooting murder of Jian Jun Zhu.
Watchuk also convicted Reed of careless discharging of a firearm and possession of a prohibited or restricted firearm without a licence.
Watchuk has retired since the trial, leaving B.C. Supreme Court Justice Alan Ross to sentence Reed.
The Jan. 14 decision was released Monday.
CCTV footage shown during 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, Paul King 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.
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.
The sentence
Ross said the 26-year-old Reed has a lengthy record beginning at age 18.
“The convictions include four assaults, including an assault of a peace officer; one robbery; five convictions for uttering threats; one conviction for sexual interference with a minor; and 18 breaches of court orders,” Ross said. “At the time of this murder, Mr. Reed was on probation in respect of three separate convictions.”
Broken down, the sentence for the three convictions are 25 years before parole on the murder, six years for the intentional discharge of the prohibited weapon, and four years for the possession of a prohibited weapon
“All of these sentences will be served concurrently,” Ross said.
Judge’s exchange with Reed
Ross addressed Reed directly after passing sentence.
“Mr. Reed, before I close, it is clear that you have a long road ahead of you. I encourage you to access the programs that are available to you inside the institutions where you will be serving your sentences. My hope is that you will avail yourself of those opportunities for rehabilitation,” Ross said.
“I also hope that you will maintain and, if possible, improve the relationship you have with your mother,” Ross said. “That is clearly something that is going to be helpful in your rehabilitation. I hope that all of these things have a positive effect on your life. All right?”
“Thank you,” Reed said.
Money laundering
Zhu was previously investigated through a high-profile "E-Pirate" probe into alleged money laundering through his illegal Richmond-based money service business, Silver International. 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.
