In the grand marble halls of the British Columbia Supreme Court, Canadian prosecutors valiantly implore the judge to convict Richard Reed, a man standing trial for a casino money laundering magnate’s untimely death. Reed, a man of dubious character, is accused of propelling the lethal bullet that brought an abrupt end to the prosperous life of Jian Jun Zhu in September 2020.
Zhu, revered and feared in equal measure throughout Greater Vancouver’s underground casino circuit, met his maker amidst a storm of bullets at Manzo, a chic Japanese eatery located in the heart of Richmond. A renowned restaurant became the site of an unexpected crime scene as Zhu dined with his notorious associate, and possible intended target, Paul “King” Jin.
A week prior, Richard Reed listened impassively to the prosecution’s closing arguments. The daunting charges he confronts include the premeditated murder of Zhu and attempted murder of Jin, who somehow emerged from the hailstorm of bullets with injuries minimal enough for survival.
Zhu, the victim, wasn’t unfamiliar with the gavel’s bang, having been the star of Canada’s most significant case related to money laundering in 2017. Prosecutors accused Zhu of filtering colossal amounts of money, in the hundreds of millions, from Vancouver casinos to his currency exchange company, Silver International. Unfortunately, the case crumbled like an ill-made pie crust when the prosecution inadvertently outed a crucial witness, forcing the judge to bring the trial to a halt.
In an intriguing twist, Reed’s trial unfolds under the watchful gaze of a judge, a singular figure occupying the bench. A 2003 Canadian statute dictates that cases involving substantial risk of jury manipulation or intimidation might proceed without the jury’s participation.
Reed, the accused, admitted to being captured on surveillance footage outside the restaurant just before the murder, donned in a high-end Calvin Klein hoodie. He plotted for twenty arduous minutes, awaiting the arrival of dusk for the chance to strike under the shield of darkness.
Despite the prosecution’s best efforts, Justice Jeanne Watchuk deems inadmissible a supposable confession by Reed, where he claims he accidentally took Zhu’s life intending to put Jin, an alleged illegal gambling operator who utilized Silver International for money laundering, off the map.
A subsequent police search yielded the gun used in the murder beneath Reed’s bed and a loaded magazine sporting Reed’s fingerprints. Reed also maintained regular communication with three individuals present at the crime scene, including one who dined at the same restaurant and left just before the tragedy unfolded. However, the prosecution remain dismayingly silent over who might have hired Reed, or why Zhu and Jin became his targets.
The defense’s counterstrike involved their assertion that Gordon Ma, whose current hideaway remains a mystery, might have been the actual shooter. Unfortunately, the restaurant’s security footage didn’t capture the shooter, implying the inability of the prosecution to prove with absolute certainty that Reed masterminded the deadly act.
Judge Watchuk now bears the heavy burden of deciding Reed’s fate. As the courtroom awaits the judgment with bated breath, court documents reveal the decision will be issued in writing at an as-yet-undetermined date.
