Gunman demanded $300,000 before fatal shooting at Oklahoma marijuana farm, prosecutor alleges
KINGFISHER − A former worker killed four people at a marijuana farm Nov. 20 after demanding $300,000 be returned to him for his "investment" in the illegal enterprise, a prosecutor alleged Friday.
"The fact that it could not be handed over on a moment's notice was what precipitated the mass murder," the prosecutor told a judge.
The former worker at the farm near Hennessey was charged Friday with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of assault and battery with a deadly weapon.
The defendant was identified in the charge as Chen Wu. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation had given his name at the time of his arrest Nov. 22 as Wu Chen. He is 45.
Prosecutors are asking that he be held without bond.
"The defendant murdered four people in a matter of minutes, shot and wounded a fifth and took shots at, but missed, a sixth," Assistant District Attorney Austin Murrey wrote in the request for no bond.
"His conduct shows him to be an intolerably dangerous criminal, ready to take human life at a moment's notice, and the witnesses he has left alive would be in very real danger if he were allowed to be free on bond."
Killed were Quirong Lin, Chen He Chun, Chen He Qiang and Fang Hui Lee, according to the murder charge. Wounded was Yi Fei Lin.
One witness said an intruder came into a garage at the farm and shot the "boss" in the leg, an OSBI agent reported in an arrest affidavit.
The witness, identified as Wenbo Lin, said he had only worked at the grow for the past 10 days.
He said the intruder "held multiple people inside the garage at gunpoint" and "demanded $300,000 within the next half hour or he was going to kill everyone in the garage," according to the affidavit.
"The 'Boss' told his girlfriend, who was inside the garage, to call her brother to get the money. As time went by, the 'Boss' was not doing very well and told the suspect to finish him off and the suspect shot the 'Boss.'
"Two males inside the garage attempted to rush the suspect and the suspect shot one of the males. The other male ran out of the garage."
The witness told the OSBI the gunman chased the fleeing male, came back in the garage and pointed the gun at a female, according to the affidavit. The witness said he then ran away himself, and heard gunshots.
Another witness, Jinbu Lin, told the OSBI he got a phone call that someone was at the farm to rob them and had guns, according to the affidavit.
He said he went to the front of the property to look around and heard a lot of gunshots, according to the affidavit.
"Jinbu saw Chen Wu, who used to work on the marijuana farm," the OSBI agent reported. "Jinbu said Wu saw him and started shooting at him. Jinbu ran from the property and went to get help."
The former worker was arrested Nov. 22 in Miami Beach, Florida, but has been returned to Oklahoma.
He told a judge in Florida, through a translator, Nov. 23 that he feared returning to Oklahoma.
He said he was afraid he will be killed "because these people" are mafiosos, the translator told the judge.
He could make his first appearance in Kingfisher County District Court Monday.
The prosecutor revealed in his legal motion asking for no bond that there is video showing portions of the crime. The prosecutor also revealed that the marijuana grow has been seized by law enforcement.
The defendant was described in the motion as a Chinese citizen. His alleged demand for $300,000 was described as a portion of his investment.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Man allegedly demanded money before Oklahoma marijuana farm shooting
