SURREY — Provincial court records reveal 19 criminal charge citations in less than five years against the Surrey man who is accused of murdering Surrey realtor Colin Hill.
According to the records, Khouri Lamar Green, 22, has been charged over the years with break and enter, resisting police, possession of stolen property, and failing to comply with a court sentence. He was charged this week with second-degree murder and will next appear in court on Sept. 14.
Hill, a realtor who lived in Cloverdale, was shot dead in his home while trying to protect his family from a burglar just before midnight Sunday.
Police say Hill, 42, did not know his alleged killer.
"It's believed this homicide was random in nature," said Sgt. Stephanie Ashton, spokeswoman for the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team, said.
Hill's family was home at the time.
His grieving wife, Becky Zhou, posted a message on Facebook indicating Hill tried to stop the gunman from breaking in, but "lost (the) battle holding the door." She wrote that her husband "yelled out to the family to hide" and then led the gunman outside "to give time to the family to hide.
"All other family members are safe," she wrote. "Colin is the best Real estate agent, Very Protective Father, Very best husband a person could ever asked for. At this very difficult time, I am asking Please give me some personal space and privacy, please."
Paramedics tried to help Hill but he was pronounced dead at the scene, in the 16500-block of 64th Avenue.
"This is a difficult day for Surrey," Chief Supt. Bill Fordy said at a press conference Monday afternoon.
"This was a tragic and truly senseless act that has no rationale.
"There is no question that these are the most painful moments that a family can endure," Fordy said. "For the police, they are also the hardest. And while we are confident that we have quickly taken the person responsible for this senseless crime into custody, I am still angry at the pointless loss of life."
Ashton noted that roughly two hours after Hill was shot Burnaby RCMP arrested a gunman who was allegedly trying to break into an apartment in the 7300-block of Macpherson Avenue.
Ashton said the suspect in the Surrey shooting had taken off in a stolen vehicle and that his description and that of the stolen vehicle matched that of Burnaby's suspect and his vehicle.
"Surrey RCMP moved quickly to get information out to all Lower Mainland police departments," Ashton noted. "As a result, Burnaby officers have the information they required in order to execute an arrest and keep the public safe from further harm by this individual."
Surrey Mayor Linda Hepner said “there are no words to express my outrage for this senseless loss of life.
“Should he be found guilty,†she said of the accused, “I sincerely hope that the courts will see fit to punish him to the full extent of the law for this heinous and senseless crime.â€
tom.zytaruk@thenownewspaper.com