Richmond restaurant murder: Friend of accused killer reluctantly testifies

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Reluctantly, a close friend of accused killer Richard Reed testified Monday that a few days after the fatal Manzo restaurant murder in 2020, Reed “was simply bragging about the shooting.”

Mohammad Elburai told British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Jeanne Watchuk that he did not believe Reed when he confessed to his role in the Sept. 18, 2020, murder in Richmond that left money launderer Jian Jun Zhu dead. and his partner, Paul Jin, injured.

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“He was just saying he had shot someone, but I didn’t believe him,” said Elburai, a 27-year-old auto mechanic. “Basically, he was just bragging about it.”

He said Reed often tried to act like a gangster “just to look attractive to people.”

Reed was “calm and collected” when he talked about the murder, the witness testified, adding that Reed claimed he had been paid “maybe six, maybe eight, maybe 10 grand.”

He confirmed to prosecutor Rusty Antonuk that Reed showed him a photo of Paul Jin with a bleeding cheek and told his friend of more than a decade that Jin was the intended target of the hit.

“He shot the wrong person. He told me that,” Elburai said.

Reed claimed he obtained the photo of a South Asian man named “Jas” who was inside the restaurant at the time of the shooting.

Almost every time Elburai answered a question, he included: “I’m not really sure” or “I didn’t think so.”

Elburai began his in-person testimony Monday morning in Courtroom 65 of the Vancouver Courts of Justice. But after he repeatedly complained that he did not want to testify and put his head between his knees, the Crown requested that he be moved to a separate room to continue on the stand. Defense attorney Kevin Westell opposed the move.

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But Watchuk ruled that Elburai could testify via video link because he clearly felt uncomfortable in court and was “curled up into a ball” at times.

During his morning testimony, Elburai repeated several times: “To be honest, I don’t want to be here.”

He even told Watchuk that if he couldn’t continue with his video evidence, he was prepared to go to jail.

Antonuk told the court that Elburai had been summoned to testify and warned that an arrest warrant could be issued if he did not comply.

Elburai clearly looked uncomfortable when he walked in around 10:15 a.m. and saw his old friend in the prisoner’s box. Jin was sitting in the public gallery along with dozens of students.

He testified that Reed called him for a ride a few hours after the Manzo shooting and seemed distraught and “nervous.” Reed was in the parking lot of the Wendy’s restaurant on Cambie Street in Vancouver at the time.

“I thought they were attacking him,” Elburai said.

As they drove toward Richmond, Reed told Elburai to watch the news. The witness said he checked Safari on his phone and saw reports of Manzo’s murder.

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“What was your mood?” —Antonuk asked.

Elburai responded: “I was shocked.”

He testified that Reed was dressed all in black and that he saw a bulge “under his clothing” near his stomach that he thought looked like “nine millimeters.”

When asked what he meant by that, Elburai said “a firearm.” He said he knew the way because he had had one before.

Antonuk also asked Elburai how he was doing financially in 2020. He admitted that he was struggling and that he sold illicit drugs for a short period of time.

Elburai testified in a voir dire, or a trial within a trial. Watchuk will hear arguments from lawyers next week on whether their evidence should be admitted in the case.

He will be under questioning on Tuesday.

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