Edmonton Chinatown homicides: Video shows accused’s tense RCMP ride after being ejected from home
Witness video reveals RCMP drove accused Justin Bone into Edmonton despite court conditions, a key detail in the Edmonton Chinatown homicides trial now underway.
A video played in Court of King’s Bench shows Justin Bone, who faces second-degree murder charges in the Edmonton Chinatown homicides, shouting and pleading during an RCMP drive into Edmonton on May 15, 2022.
The recording captures Bone raged at being made homeless after he was removed from a home in Alberta Beach and protesting that police were forcing him to breach conditions that barred him from being in the city.
Three days later, Bone was arrested and charged in the fatal beatings of Hung Trang and Ban Phuc Hoang, deaths that triggered citywide debate about safety in Edmonton’s Chinatown.
Video shows tense moments in the back of an RCMP cruiser
The court video begins shortly after Bone was asked to leave the Alberta Beach residence he had been released to and follows him as he argues with Const. Andrew Simmons in the back seat.
Throughout the drive, Bone alternates between anger and despair, accusing officers of making him homeless and insisting he would not voluntarily breach release conditions by entering Edmonton.
Simmons can be seen and heard seeking other options, including contacting an addiction treatment program where Bone was reportedly on a wait list, and later phoning Edmonton police to flag the situation.
Accused describes fear of shelters and return to drugs
On the recording Bone repeatedly expressed fear of being on the street, describing shelters as unsafe and saying he did not want to return downtown.
He told officers he was not “street material” and begged to be dropped at a west-side church instead of central Edmonton, citing concerns about drugs and theft in the downtown core.
In testimony this week Bone said he started using meth after being left on the streets to stay awake, and later told the court he has no memory of the attacks in Chinatown after using an unknown substance.
Crown, defence litigated transport decision; judge dismissed stay motion
Defence lawyers argued that RCMP actions in transporting Bone into Edmonton warranted an abuse-of-process stay of the charges, a motion brought before Justice Paul Belzil.
The judge ultimately dismissed that bid, finding the evidence did not justify halting the prosecution over the police decision to bring Bone into the city despite release conditions.
That ruling leaves the contested May 15 transport as admissible evidence for the jury to weigh alongside other material at trial.
Community impact of the Chinatown killings and ensuing debate
The killings of Hung Trang and Ban Phuc Hoang in 2022 heightened scrutiny of public safety and service provision in Edmonton’s Chinatown, an area that houses many social supports and shelters.
Local leaders and residents have debated policing strategies, shelter capacity and the balance between public safety and support for people experiencing homelessness in the downtown core.
The deaths were part of a spike in late-pandemic violence that prompted calls for coordinated responses from police, social services and municipal authorities.
Defence to call experts as trial schedule is set
The defence told the court it plans to call a psychologist and a toxicologist, who are expected to testify about Bone’s mental state and substance use at the time of the offences.
Bone remains under direct examination by his lawyer, David Wolsey, and has not yet been cross-examined by Crown counsel as experts are finalized.
Court officials said the trial will resume next month and judges are considering dates later in the summer or early fall to complete testimony and hearings on expert reports.
The video evidence of the May 15 RCMP drive is now one of several contested facts jurors will consider as they hear testimony about the Edmonton Chinatown homicides and the events that preceded the arrests.
