Chinese National Pleads Guilty To Murdering 4 At Illegal Oklahoma Marijuana Farm

A Chinese national has been sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to fatally shooting four people at an illegal medical marijuana operation on an Oklahoma farm.

During a Friday hearing, 47-year-old Chen Wu pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of battery with a deadly weapon. The murders occurred on November 20, 2022, on a farm west of Hennessey, a town roughly 55 miles northwest of Oklahoma City.

Chen reportedly fatally shot three men and a woman in a garage on the farm within minutes after demanding that they return the $300,000 he had given to fund the marijuana growing operation.

Authorities confirmed that Chen and all of the victims were Chinese nationals, identifying the victims as Quirong Lin, Chen He Chun, Chen He Qiang and Fang Hui Lee, according to court documents. A fifth individual, Yi Fei Lin, was wounded during the incident at the 10-acre farm, which was operating under an illegally obtained license to grow marijuana for medical purposes.

Miami Beach police arrested Chen in Florida just two days after the shooting, as his vehicle had been flagged by a tag reader. The Chinese national was later extradited to Oklahoma to face his charges.

Chen was able to take a plea agreement in the case, which gave him a sentence of life in prison without parole for each murder charge and a 20-year sentence for the battery charge. All of these sentences will be served concurrently.

“This case should serve as a reminder of the dangers surrounding illegal marijuana activity in Oklahoma,” Kingfisher County District Attorney Tommy Humphries, told The Oklahoman.

The victim who survived the shooting has also been charged related to the incident and his name was reportedly found in court documents identifying him as a 25% owner of the illegal medical marijuana farm.

Another individual was also arrested during the investigation — 35-year-old Richard Ignacio, who is accused of being the “straw” or “ghost” owner of the medical marijuana farm. Court documents state that Ignacio allegedly “falsely and fraudulent obtained the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority License and Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics Registration necessary to manufacture marijuana by falsely claiming 75% ownership in Liu & Chen Inc., in order to meet the residency ownership requirements for licensing and manufacturing pursuant to Oklahoma law.”

According to prosecutors, in exchange for payments of $2,000 per month, Ignacio fraudulently put his name on the license, then “subsequently turned over control of the farm to the 25% owner” Yi Fei Lin, a Chinese national who was not eligible to obtain an Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority License and Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics Registration on his own.