06x03 - Run for the Door

[bunniefuu]

[ Ringing ]

Narrator: a man gunned down in a nightclub...

[ People screaming ]

...a terrified city with a sh**ter on the loose.

Sherbon: they were all in just panic mode.

We're looking at each other like,

"What the heck is going on here?"

Narrator: ...leaving a family devastated.

Speechless, done right there.

It was the worst moment of my life.

Narrator: police have no reliable witnesses...

As an experienced investigator, you kind of get the feeling

When someone's lying.

Narrator: ...until surveillance cameras expose a k*ller...

From that video, you can kind of determine

When the actual shot is fired.

Narrator: ...and reveal the truth behind a m*rder...

When someone puts a g*n on the side of his head

And pulls the trigger, that's an execution.

♪♪

♪♪

--Captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

Captions paid for by discovery communications

♪♪

Narrator: 25-year-old car mechanic josh richards is working late,

Helping his friend, galen sherbon,

With his new business venture.

My party buses were converted school buses.

Called them party buses 'cause you can legally drink on them.

While the the sober driver is driving for you.

Josh was like,

"Hey, you don't worry about the buses side of things.

I'm going to find them, I'm going to expect them,

I'm going to make sure

That they're not going to break down on you."

He was happy for me.

He wanted to help me in any way he could.

Narrator: before the big launch,

Galen's party bus needs to be road-worthy.

There was a bus inspection that needed to get done.

[ Cellphone rings, clicks ]

Hey, galen, what's up?

He had to work at like 5:00 in the morning anyway,

So he just did whatever he did,

And I think it made him happy, actually, to help other people.

Josh worked a lot of hours

And he was running himself ragged.

If he wasn't working, he was helping somebody else out.

He was always there for me.

It didn't matter what time of night it was.

Josh was -- you know, he was definitely

The kindest person I've ever met.

Narrator: with the bus ready to go,

It's time for the big launch.

So the night of december 7th, is actually josh's idea.

It was kind of my grand opening of the business.

Man, it's freezing out here.

We decided, we're like, "hey, let's just, you know,

Put it open to the public. $10 A person.

See how many people want to go from green bay to appleton.

-Wow. What? -I know.

-This looks great. -Sure.

Hey.

Narrator: josh has invited his girlfriend, brittany, to join them.

Sherbon: josh's girlfriend, I've met her probably a handful of times.

I really think I was one of those relationships

Where, you know, how many times their breakup

They'll still get back together.

-Check this place out. -Well done.

Sherbon: josh liked her, so I always thought,

If he was happy then I was happy.

Whole bunch of people showed up,

So it definitely made me feel good.

I didn't know what to expect.

I was just ready for a good time.

Alright, let's get this party started.

[ Cheers and applause ]

♪♪

Narrator: the party goes on long into the night.

♪♪

But as the bars begin to close,

Galen heads back to the bus.

Sherbon: we noticed there's -- people started running

And then you could see people fleeing.

[ People screaming ]

[ Dialing, ringing ]

[ People screaming ]

And that's when we notice

That there's a whole bunch of cops on the way

And, you know, ambulance, all this kind of stuff,

And we're just -- we're looking at each other like,

"What the heck is going on here?"

Hey, hey, what the hell's going on, man? What's up?

There was one person that came out

And said somebody was shot, and they were on the bus.

And I'm just like, okay, now I'm freaking out,

Because I'm like, "do you know who it is?"

But nobody really knew who it was.

They were all in just panic mode and trying to get out of there.

[ Sirens wailing ]

I had so many questions running through my mind,

But I didn't have any answers yet.

We're missing probably a good 15, 20 people,

I would say, that were still in there.

Narrator: with no sign of josh or brittany.

Galen needs to know if they're okay.

Brittany, hey, it's galen. Are -- are you okay?

I was like, "hey, what's going on?"

You know, and then she's the one who kind of told me

That it was josh.

Speechless, done right there.

♪♪

[ Police radio chatter ]

Narrator: detective neal rabas from appleton pd

Leads the investigation.

Rabas: I was informed that an individual

Had been shot in the head.

And was transported to one of our local hospitals.

It did not look good.

-Hey. -Hey.

Is he still alive?

I was given some information that it was a male individual

Who had been on a party bus from the green bay area.

His name was josh richards.

He was with his girlfriend, brittany.

♪♪

Narrator: as he waits for witness statements,

Detective rabas assesses the crime scene.

We primarily focused on the foyer area.

I could see where the first responders had treated josh.

There was a bloodstain on the worn carpet.

This area had been walked through

By hundreds of people that night.

Narrator: it's too contaminated to offer many clues.

Rabas: so we had a lot of work in front of us

To try to figure out what exactly took place.

Have you got anything for me?

They did find one shell casing that was identified,

Photographed, and collected.

Narrator: it's from a .25-caliber handgun.

Rabas: this was not a typical bar fight that got out of control.

This was an attempted homicide.

Anybody see the sh**ter?

Our information came from the security individuals at the bar,

That there was a argument between josh richards

And a group of male asians.

Josh was not intoxicated, and the fight had not even risen

To the point where the bouncer felt that he had to intervene.

Shortly thereafter, he heard a g*nsh*t,

And then all the male asians ran out of the door to the right.

They didn't know who they were

Other than they were wearing white clothing.

Narrator: detective rabas needs more to i.d. A sh**ter.

Rabas: I looked immediately to the ceiling,

And I could see that there was cameras.

We needed to figure out,

Why would someone want to sh**t josh richards?

That was the biggest question.

Need to view footage from that camera.

And we were hoping that some of those answers

Would have been captured on video.

Narrator: 25-year-old josh richards

Is fighting for his life in hospital after being shot

At the luna lounge nightclub in appleton, wisconsin.

Witnesses saw josh arguing with a group of men

Moments before he was shot.

Now nightclub surveillance cameras

Could reveal the sh**ter's identity.

We knew the surveillance video inside of luna

Was going to be crucial to helping us solve this incident.

Narrator: the security manager loads up the camera

Covering the entrance to the club.

From that video, you can kind of determine

When the actual shot is fired

Because everybody's head in that camera

Turned their head sharply toward where josh got shot.

Narrator: but the sh**ting happens just out of view.

As the footage plays on,

A crowd of people run out of the nightclub.

Wind it back and slow it down.

Three men appear from the direction of the sh**ting.

Rabas: three individuals all matched

Somewhat what the bouncer had described,

That they were wearing light clothing,

And they then exit the luna bar and went to the right.

Narrator: but the footage doesn't provide

A clear image of the men.

Detectives hope a second camera

Overlooking the bar area will show them more.

They cue it to just before the sh**ting,

But everything appears normal

And there's no sign of the suspects or josh.

They keep watching.

Then at 1:49 a.m.,

Less than two minutes before the sh**ting, josh walks into view.

Rabas: josh emerges from the dance-floor area.

He's by himself.

He's about 3/4 of the way through the bar,

Almost ready to exit into the foyer area,

Where he stops, and he turns,

And then you can see brittany.

Josh waits for her.

He waits until she meets up with him,

And then they turn and walk off of camera view.

Does not appear like anybody immediately follows him.

Narrator: with no sign of the suspects,

Detectives scroll back through the footage

To see what happened earlier in the night.

They start at 11:00 p.m., When josh arrived at the club.

Rabas: I continue to watch,

Try to establish a timeline of what all took place.

There he is.

He walked in with his girlfriend, brittany,

And they came in to that coat check.

Let's take a look at the video from inside the bar.

Narrator: they trace every frame of josh's night,

Hunting for clues.

Rabas: he was not upset with anybody,

Was not arguing with anybody in that location as he walked in.

As I watched the video, around 11:23 p.m.,

Josh and brittany walk arm-in-arm, hand-in-hand

From the dance floor

Back to that foyer area where the bathrooms are located.

Josh gives brittany a small kiss.

There was nothing suspicious.

He seemed to be getting along with brittany.

Let it play on.

Narrator: the couple then disappear from view

Until an hour later.

At 12:30 a.m., Josh returns

And investigators immediately notice a change.

Rabas: he seems to be looking for somebody.

He walks to his right and around the main bar,

And, again, it appears like he's looking for someone.

Narrator: then something captures their attention.

Rabas: as he's walking along the bar,

He bumps into an individual.

Wind it back and slow it down.

You can see a hand come out.

Josh just kind of flicks the hand away.

It appears that josh is somewhat agitated by this contact as well

As the fact that he's looking for someone that he can't find.

The bar was not well lit.

We weren't able to clearly pick out who this individual was

Or whose arm it was that josh had this interaction with.

Narrator: neither josh or brittany are seen again

Until they exit the bar just before the sh**ting.

On this second viewing,

Detectives can now see the difference in their behavior.

Rabas: the interaction between josh and brittany

Was not the same as it was earlier.

She seemed rushed, like she knew that josh was waiting.

My interpretation was that he was not happy with brittany

As they exited off camera.

And it just appears that there's a dispute

Between the two of them

Narrator: with no sign of the three men seen running from the club,

It appears only josh's girlfriend

Can reveal what happened.

Two hours after the sh**ting,

Josh's family arrive at the theda clark medical center.

I just couldn't believe that my son had been shot.

I just -- I couldn't believe it.

Not josh.

Because he was just such a good person.

Police detectives met us there

And walked us to josh's room, and we were able to see him.

He had a vent tube in keeping him alive.

[ Heart monitor beeping ]

The feeling was awful.

You know, he's my only son,

And to see him lying in a hospital bed,

It was the worst moment of my life.

♪♪

Narrator: down the hallway, detective rabas questions brittany.

I know this is difficult.

I need to ask you some questions.

Rabas: brittany had explained to us josh does not like her drinking,

Especially drinking that much alcohol.

She was out on the dance floor.

She wasn't sure, but she thought

Maybe josh may have been upset

'Cause perhaps she had been dancing with somebody

On the dance floor.

Did you see what happened when josh was shot?

He got into an argument.

And it was during this argument

That ultimately led to him being shot.

Do you know who shot josh?

I didn't see.

But there was this girl there,

So I chased her.

She was yelling at this female,

Saying that, "your friend shot my boyfriend."

Narrator: brittany says she can't remember anything else.

We were surprised at her lack of ability

To provide any description of what the sh**ter looked like.

It was partly due to the fact that she had been drinking

And that fact that she was in shock.

Narrator: detective rabas needs to check brittany's story

On the surveillance cameras.

He reloads the footage from the foyer.

Sure enough, as the crowd run for the exit,

Detective rabas sees brittany lunge

At someone in front of her.

There's brittany. Rewind it and slow it down.

The footage confirms brittany's story,

But it doesn't show the female's face.

And with so many people trying to escape,

It's impossible to make out who her friend is.

♪♪

Rabas: as I continue to watch it,

The officers arrived to take control of the scene.

Then the ambulance arrives.

The stretcher comes in.

Narrator: a few minutes later,

Josh is taken out to the ambulance.

Rabas: it was the same camera angle.

I watched josh go into the bar,

A happy guy who's out that night,

Having a good time with his girlfriend

And then ends up to be such a tragic situation.

It's just sad.

Narrator: with no other leads,

Detectives focus in on the three men seen running from the scene.

If you look at the video in real time,

It's very difficult to see

Because they run so fast out of the bar.

I had to take the video and slow it down

And actually go frame by frame.

We saw the first individual was wearing a baseball cap

And a jacket,

The second individual was wearing a biggie, or coat,

That was unzipped,

And then the third individual was wearing a vest.

I then noticed that the second individual

Had something in his hand.

Wait. What's that?

As he is running toward the front door,

He raises his hand.

In one of the frames, you can see what appears to be,

What we would describe, the hammer of a g*n.

And then we're thinking,

"Well, that's got to be the individual

Who shot josh richards."

Narrator: it's been 24 hours since 25-year-old josh richards

Was shot in the luna lounge nightclub.

Detectives have recovered surveillance footage

Of a suspect fleeing, possibly holding a g*n.

Now, detective rabas must track where the man went next.

He returns to the scene of the crime

And canvasses the surrounding area for cameras.

The city of appleton has several traffic cameras,

Specifically in our downtown area.

I was hoping some of our cameras would have captured

A male with a g*n running from the luna bar.

Narrator: at the theda clark medical center,

The prognosis doesn't look good.

The doctors told us that, given the entry wound,

That josh wouldn't recover from his injuries,

That essentially there was nothing else

That they could do to help him.

Seeing josh there...

Whew!

♪♪

♪♪

Even being this long,

It's kind of like I'm still in the room.

I had no idea what to say.

I just went up there and...

Held his hand and kind of just was like,

"Wow, is this really happening?"

Pische: I held his hand, and I told him it was okay to go

And not be in any pain.

It was heartbreaking,

But I knew josh was no longer there with us.

I knew he was with god,

And he was going to be safe.

[ Crying ]

Narrator: the case is now escalated to a homicide.

Rabas: we really need to find the person

Who ex*cuted josh richards,

And that's really what it was,

An execution, where someone puts a g*n on the side of his head

And pulls the trigger.

Narrator: surveillance video from the traffic cameras

Is ready to view.

Okay, what have you got for me?

Following the sh**ting, the suspect ran out of the door

And to the right, heading west,

Taking them towards division street.

Detective rabas loads up the camera covering the street

And cues the footage to the time of the sh**ting.

Rabas: the traffic camera did capture and record

A male with a g*n running from the bar.

Narrator: but he's not alone.

The two other men from the nightclub are close behind.

Can't see their faces. They're too far away.

Rabas: it did help us and identify or verify somewhat

The clothing that two of them were wearing.

One person was wearing a vest.

One person was wearing a beige jacket.

Okay, show me the next one.

♪♪

As they ran north,

Their route of travel was captured by this camera

And then head up in a north east direction.

There's also another camera that captured their route of travel.

Narrator: as detectives track their route,

Something's wrong.

Wait. Pause it there.

Rabas: it appeared that they had discarded some clothing.

They weren't wearing the same clothing,

Which we found very suspicious.

Why would you discard your clothing

If you were not involved at the incident?

And we were able to tell that they went in the direction

Of where we have a homeless shelter and some dumpsters.

Narrator: officers are immediately dispatched to the dumpsters

Just three blocks from the nightclub.

They recover a red cap and a white vest.

Rabas: from the video, we knew that one of the individuals

Was wearing a white vest

And one of the individuals was wearing a hat.

Narrator: the hat appears to have

The same distinct circular sticker on the bill.

We highly suspected that was clothing

That was discarded by our suspects.

At this point, we were thinking one of these three,

Or if not all three, are involved

With the sh**ting and k*lling of josh richards.

Narrator: certain these men are responsible for josh's m*rder,

Detective rabas is desperate for a clear view of their faces.

He returns to the camera covering the entrance

At the luna lounge.

The suspect's faces couldn't be seen going out,

But they might see them coming in.

He plays it from the start of the night.

♪♪

♪♪

Finally, at 12:35 a.m.,

Detective rabas spots something familiar.

Rabas: about an hour and 15 minutes before the sh**ting,

I identified one of the individuals

Who was wearing the white vest enter luna bar.

And then 50 minutes before the sh**ting takes place,

I was able to identify the other two individuals,

Narrator: the man who police suspect was carrying a g*n,

Closely followed by the man wearing the distinctive red hat.

They were male asians.

So that all fit what the bouncer had described to us.

Narrator: now, with a clear view of their faces,

Detective rabas needs names.

Three days after the sh**ting,

He catches a break.

The female seen fighting with brittany comes forward.

I'm investigating the homicide

Of josh richards at the luna lounge.

She identifies herself as 25-year-old alison blom.

And she said that she was scared of what might happen to her.

That's why she had not been in contact with the police.

I arrived with chong lee just after 1:00 a.m.

And met his brother paul and the others inside.

Alison admitted that she had been at luna

The night that josh richards got shot.

She had gone there with a friend, chong lee,

Narrator: detective rabas confronts her about the fight with brittany.

She stated that she was tackled by this girl

And making a comment about, "your friend shot my boyfriend."

She didn't know what that was all about, is what she told us.

Can you tell me anything about the sh**ting?

As she was leaving luna, she did hear the shot.

She said she didn't see who shot josh richards.

Narrator: detective rabas now shows alison

Surveillance stills of the three suspects.

Rabas: alison was able to identify

The person with the hat as joe thor,

The person wearing the white vest is phong lee,

And then the person wearing the jacket as paul lee.

But she did confirm that when josh was shot,

That he was in an argument with paul lee.

Narrator: the same man investigators believe was carrying a g*n.

All three men are immediately tracked down

And brought in for questioning.

Phong lee tells officers

He didn't see who shot josh richards.

Joe thor also says he didn't see the sh**ter,

But did witness paul lee hitting the victim.

After leaving the nightclub, joe thor then claims

He went home and stayed there all night.

Detective rabas now interviews paul lee.

Rabas: he admits to the argument and throwing a punch at him,

But he was very adamant in denying sh**ting josh.

We actually showed him a picture of what we thought

Was him with a handgun,

And he made a comment that was not a g*n,

That it was an e-cigarette.

Narrator: detective rabas must find out if paul lee

Could be telling the truth.

We gave him the e-cigarette and put the jacket back on him

And had him hold it

Similar to how the video had captured it.

Creates doubt in your mind.

It's very possible what paul is telling us is true,

That he did not have a g*n,

That he didn't sh**t josh.

We continued to question him and interrogate him.

If it wasn't you, paul, then who was it?

And at that point, he said that his brother chong

Was the sh**ter.

Narrator: chong lee, the same man

That alison said she arrived with that night.

Rabas: the person we thought was sh**ter was paul lee.

Now we're switching gears to chong lee.

Narrator: the men claim they ran and dumped their clothing

Because they were scared they'd be blamed for the sh**ting.

They did not want to be identified and located

And involved with this investigation.

Narrator: unsure what to believe,

Detective rabas returns to the footage

To see if he can verify paul lee's story...

There.

...and to see if the k*ller has been hiding in plain sight.

Narrator: three days after josh richards was gunned down

In the luna lounge nightclub their suspect, paul lee,

Is blaming his own brother, chong, for the sh**ting.

Armed with this new information,

Detectives go back to the surveillance footage.

Show me the footage of alison arriving.

Sure.

[ Keyboard clacking ]

Rabas: I was able to identify alison

Walk into the bar at about 1:12 a.m. With a male asian.

That's chong. -Mm.

Narrator: he was wearing a baseball-style jacket with darker sleeves

And a lighter colored vest and a baseball hat.

Okay. Switch to the bar camera.

He and alison walks through the main bar together

And they go down to the dance floor.

I never saw him interact with josh richards.

He never has any conversation with josh.

They never even passed each other.

Narrator: they don't see anyone again until 1:49 a.m.,

When josh and brittany leave the bar.

A minute or a half a minute after josh and brittany enter,

Alison comes up from the dance-floor area

And she walks into the main bar area.

Wait, there's alison.

Right.

Shortly after that, chong lee walks up.

He doesn't have his hat on, he puts his hat on.

He meets up with alison.

Alison is leading as chong is following,

And they then exit the camera view.

Narrator: it's just 13 seconds before josh is shot.

After we saw that footage, we knew that then

Chong was in that immediate area where josh had gotten shot.

Narrator: detective rabas switches to the camera

Overlooking the entrance.

The three men exit first.

Then a few seconds later, chong follows.

As I watch the video, I see chong as he exits.

He walks to the left going to the east

Where the other guys exited to the west.

His clothing does not match what any of initial witnesses

Had described, as someone wearing light clothing.

He has a dark-colored jacket on,

So he doesn't fit any of the initial description

Of what some of our main witnesses are describing

As who the sh**ter was and where he went.

Narrator: investigators need to establish which brother

Pulled the trigger.

Finding chong lee is now their top priority.

♪♪

For josh's loved ones,

The time has come to say their final goodbyes.

Pische: I had known that josh wanted to be an organ donor.

Josh wanted to always give to others.

So it only made sense that we would consent

To the organ, eye, and tissue donation.

That was josh's character.

I had decided that once the organ-donation team came

And we met them and talked about josh,

I'd let them know that josh was in their hands.

And so they took him.

We left before they took him out of the room.

I don't think I could've...

I don't think I could've survived

Him getting wheeled out of that room.

♪♪

Narrator: while investigators try to track down chong lee,

Detective rabas turns his attention to the m*rder weapon.

Sharks bar, located just four blocks from the crime scene,

Has made a disturbing discovery.

[ Siren wails ]

♪♪

Called us about some ammunition.

Rabas: we recovered a total of six b*ll*ts

In the bottom of a toilet,

But we did not find the g*n,

Narrator: the rounds match the shell casing found at the crime scene.

Any cameras in here?

Okay. Thank you.

We were confident that the person who had shot josh,

We believed went into sharks shortly thereafter

And they tried to get rid of evidence

By flushing it down the toilet.

Narrator: but with no cameras,

Detective rabas cannot i.d. Who had the b*ll*ts.

Fortunately, his luck is about to turn.

Rabas: as we continued,

Two females had information for us

That they wanted to share.

They said the night of the sh**ting,

That they were actually in sharks.

They saw a male individual come into sharks

Who matches the description of chong lee.

He went to the bathroom. He came out of the bathroom.

Do you remember what he was wearing that evening?

He had the same clothing on that he did when he left luna.

It now was pointing more in the direction of chong lee

Because we knew he went in that direction.

We knew that he exited

And was heading in that direction toward sharks.

But we still had a lot of work to do.

[ Cellphone rings ] excuse me.

Narrator: as investigators continue their search

For chong lee... Rabas.

...an anonymous tip has come through

To the police department.

We'd gotten information that chong had possibly

Gone down to the milwaukee area after the sh**ting

And checked into a hilton hotel.

We're on our way.

Narrator: detectives head to the hilton hotel in milwaukee,



Hey, do you know if a chong lee is checked in?

They confirmed that chong lee had checked in there.

Narrator: but he has already left.

We're going to need footage from these cameras.

Detective rabas wants to confirm

It was chong lee who checked in.

So they cue the footage to the time of his arrival.

At 6:43 a.m., Just five hours after the sh**ting,

Chong lee walks into the lobby.

Can you pause this?

But he's not alone.

Look, there's joe thor, too. He's right there.

Joe thor didn't go straight home like he told police.

Rabas: the video was able to place

Chong and joe at the hotel within hours after the sh**ting.

♪♪

Narrator: joe thor is brought back in for questioning.

You've been holding out on me, joe.

We confronted him with the information

And the fact that he's on video at the hilton,

Joe then admits that chong came over to his house

After the sh**ting and that he and chong went to milwaukee.

We questioned him as to why he even left with with chong lee,

And joe explained to us that he was scared of not doing

What chong wanted him to do.

Joe said that during this car ride,

Chong lee admitted to him that he had shot josh richards.

Narrator: detective rabas confronts joe

On why he lied in his first interview.

Rabas: part of it was his fear of chong.

He still wasn't sure what chong was capable of.

Based upon chong sh**ting josh.

Where is he, joe?

Joe said that he wasn't sure

Where chong was located at this time.

And joe explained to us that joe thought that

Chong wanted to leave the state,

Get out of the area, and be gone forever.

So we had an urgency to find chong

Before he fled the area, fled the state.

Narrator: four days after josh richards was m*rder*d,

Detectives are trying to locate their prime suspect,

Chong lee.

We had some information that he might be staying

At his mom's address.

So we had officers doing surveillance

On his mother's house.

We had gotten information for the warrant

And we took chong into custody.

Narrator: chong lee is taken back to appleton police department,

Where detectives hope they will finally discover the truth

About josh richards' m*rder.

♪♪

He initially denied being at luna

When the sh**ting took place.

This, from the cameras.

He then admits, okay, that he was there,

But he doesn't know who the sh**ter was.

Where did you go right after the luna lounge?

He wasn't truthful.

He said he went home.

We know he didn't go home

And that he had gone down to milwaukee.

Again, his response was that he went home,

We told him that we have eyewitnesses

That place him inside of sharks, the pool hall.

We'd said that his own brother, paul lee,

Had admitted to us that chong was the sh**ter.

We continued to confront him with the evidence

That we had stacked up against him,

Including the witnesses, the video,

The recovery of the ammunition.

Chong continued to deny that he was the sh**ter in this case.

Narrator: even without a confession, investigators used

The surveillance and witness testimonies

To build an account of what they believe happened.

Rabas: we know that josh was upset with brittany

Over some of what brittany was doing that night.

So as he exited, he was a little agitated.

Someone in that group made a comment to him

And no one really even knows what the comment was,

But it caused josh to turn around.

And because of who they were

And how josh was that night, there was an argument.

Settle down, dude. I'm here with my girl.

Rabas: the argument went on for maybe a minute to two minutes,

And during that argument, paul lee took a swing at josh,

We believe, as paul took that swing,

That's when chong lee was exiting the main bar area

And walking into that foyer area.

Chong lee saw that his brother, paul,

Was in this argument with a big guy.

We believe that chong made the decision

That he was going to end the fight.

He reached out his .25-caliber handgun,

And, literally, he put it right next to josh's ear

And he pulled the trigger.

[ g*nsh*t ]

[ People screaming ]

Someone who reacts that quickly to taking a life

And then has no remorse about it,

He's just an evil person.

Narrator: on december 16th, eight days after josh was shot,

Chong lee is charged

With first-degree intentional homicide.

Chong lee continues to protest his innocence,

But with the overwhelming evidence against him,

He is found guilty of first-degree homicide.

On june 2, 2016, chong lee is sentenced to life in prison

With the possibility of parole in 32 years.

He continues to appeal his conviction.

Joe thor, paul lee, and phong lee did not participate

In josh's m*rder and face no criminal charges.

The surveillance footage inside of luna was crucial.

Without the video, this case either would have gone unsolved

Or would have taken a lot longer

To get to the point where we did.

Narrator: while josh's family still struggle with his absence,

They take comfort knowing part of him lives on.

Josh was a great person. He's definitely truly missed.

But I really think that his effects are still around us,

Even though he's not here.

Pische: josh donated seven organs to seven different people.

So it's just heartwarming to know

That these people are still alive.

And he helped over 100 people with this tissue donation.

To know that somebody like josh, who is so giving,

Still gave even after he died, I'm so proud of my son.