Associate District Judge Lance Schneiter granted a motion Monday to deny bond for a Chinese citizen now charged in Kingfisher County District Court with four murders in relation to a Nov. 20 shooting at a Lacey medical marijuana grow facility.

Wu Chen, 45, appeared in court Monday via video feed from the Kingfisher County Criminal Justice Center, where he has been held with no bond since Thursday when sheriff’s deputies returned him from Miami Beach, Fla.

Chen is charged with four counts of first-degree murder with deliberate intent, each punishable by death or life in prison with or without parole.

He also is charged with assault and battery with a deadly weapon for allegedly shooting and seriously injuring a fifth person.

He is charged as Chen Wu in criminal information filed in district court, but Mitchell Solomon, Chen’s court-appointed attorney, announced Monday that Wu Chen is the correct name.

A spokesperson for the county district attorney’s office confirmed after the hearing that Chen is the defendant’s surname, but the criminal charge was filed in accordance with the Chinese convention of listing surnames first.

Chen is charged with shooting and killing four other Chinese citizens identified in the criminal information as Quirong Lin, Chen He Chun, Chen He Qiang and Fang Hui Lee.

He also is charged with shooting Yi Fei Lin, also a Chinese citizen, who was critically injured and air lifted from the scene to an Oklahoma City hospital.

An Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation affidavit filed in conjunction with the motion to deny bond alleges a possible money motive for the shooting.

The affidavit refers to statements with two witnesses, both identified as workers at the Liu & Chen Inc. marijuana grow facility where the shootings occurred.

One of the witnesses said he was working in the garage where the shooting happened when a man came in and shot “the boss” in the leg.

The man demanded $300,000 within the next half hour or he was going to kill everyone in the garage, according to the affidavit.

The witness said “the boss,” who is not identified in the affidavit by name, told his girlfriend to call her brother to get the money, according to the affidavit.

The witness said some time later, “the boss” was not doing well and asked the suspect to “finish him off” and the suspect shot him again.

The witness said two other men attempted to rush the suspect and the suspect shot one of them and chased after the other as he ran outside.

When the suspect came back in the garage and pointed the gun at the female, the witness ran out and heard more gunshots, according to the affidavit.

Another witness identifi ed as the brother of the woman who was shot told agents he received a phone call from his sister “stating someone was at the farm to rob them and they had guns.”

The witness didn’t see anyone when he arrived at the front of the property, so he set up his phone to record the garage door and then went and hid, according to the affidavit.

The witness heard a lot of gunshots and then saw the suspect, whom he identified as Chen, who he said worked on the farm about a year previously, according to the affidavit.

The witness said Chen also saw him and started shooting at him as he ran from the property to get help.

In the motion to deny bond, the district attorney’s office alleges that when Chen demanded the $300,000, he referred to it as a poriton of his “investment” in the marijuana grow facility.

Solomon, who entered his appearance on behalf of Chen on Monday, said he required more time to prepare and “stood mute” on the state’s motion to deny bond.

However, Solomon said he reserved the right to file an application at a later date requesting that bond be set.

Chen’s next scheduled court date is Jan. 27.

Meanwhile, Kevin Pham, 46, an Oklahoma City accountant who is listed as the registered agent for Liu & Chen Inc. on paperwork filed with the Oklahoma Secretary of State, was arrested after an Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics raid of his Oklahoma City office Nov. 22.

OBN agents reported seizing nine pounds of marijuana, 316 packages of edible marijuana gummies, three pistols, a shotgun and a small bag of white crystalline substance from Pham’s office.

Pham allegedly is a registered agent and-or part owner of 63 known marijuana grows, including another farm in Kingfisher County, according to online records.

To be licensed by the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority, a marijuana grow facility must be at least 75% owned by Oklahoma residents.

The OBN alleged in its affidavit for Pham’s arrest that “Pham purposely and in an ongoing manner has committed fraud against the state of Oklahoma” by setting up “straw owners” to get around the residency requirement.

“Pham connects the 25% owners with the 75% straw owners and submits all the licensing paperwork,” according to the affidavit.

OBN Agent Mark Woodward told the Times & Free Press Tuesday that where or when charges might be filed against Pham hasn’t been determined.

“We are still looking into Pham’s activities regarding other locations and any additional arrests,” he said.