Boyfriend Suspected in Pinole Woman Slaying
March 6, 2000
Arrested on charges of child pornography
By Janet Dang & Wire Reports
In a bizarre twist in the murder investigation of Chinese American Alice Sin, whose body was found on a remote Nevada road in January, police arrested the victim’s boyfriend March 7 on charges of child pornography.
Raymond Wong, 28, of Pinole, Calif., has since been named as a primary suspect.
Pinole Police Department Commander Phil Pollard said the FBI, along with the sheriff’s department in Churchill County, Nev., and the Pinole Police Department, had served the warrant at Wong’s home, where they found evidence of child pornography. In addition, the investigation has turned up evidence indicating that Wong had spent time in Nevada.
According to an affidavit filed, seized computers belonging to Wong were examined and found to contain dozens of images of minors, estimated to be as young as 5 or 6, involved in explicit sexual activities.
Last week, Wong appeared in federal court in San Francisco where he was charged with receipt and possession of child pornography. According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Stretch, the maximum penalties for such crimes is 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for receiving the materials and five years in prison and $250,000 for possessing it.
Stretch also requested that Wong be kept in custody, saying he was considered a flight risk as he is the primary suspect in Sin’s murder and the potential beneficiary of an insurance policy.
Wong’s lawyer denied the allegations, saying that the nine computers and six laptops investigators seized may not all belong to Wong. “I believe three of the laptops belong to [Wong’s] employer,” said Wong’s attorney Donald Buchman. “He had them at the house for the sole purpose of repairing them.”
But the affidavit states that the forensic computer examiner “specifically conducted examinations on computers identified as belonging to [Wong]” because they contained files exclusive to him including his resume, job applications and numerous e-mail correspondences.
When police first investigated Sin’s murder in January, Wong had not been named a suspect, though he had had been asked by authorities to return from a business trip for questioning. Wong, a computer consultant, was later said to have been in Canada, according to Pollard. However, he did not elaborate whether Wong had been in Canada when Sin’s body was found.
According to under-sheriff Greg Nelson of the Churchill County Sheriff’s Department, Wong is among several suspects in the Bay Area under investigation for Sin’s murder.
Sin’s body was found decomposed beside a remote dirt road in Churchill County on Jan. 24. Two people investigating mining claims in the rural area came upon her body near Fallon, Nev.
Nelson said that Sin died of multiple gunshot wounds and had been dead for one to three months before her body was found.
Sin, who was 4-months pregnant at the time, lived with Wong and their 1-year-old child in their Pinole home. Wong was reportedly listed as a beneficiary on a life insurance policy Sin had applied for, and according to Nelson, “the policy was enforced.”
Sin, who was a student Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, Calif., was reported missing from her Pinole home on Nov. 21 of last year.
Wong’s attorney, Buchman, said the charge that his client is considered a flight risk is “a bunch of bull,” and he added that as far as he knew, Wong was not the beneficiary of the insurance policy reportedly requested by Sin. “State Farm sent a letter and a refund check. … The information I have is that they declined to issue a policy,” Buchman said.
Buchman has criticized the Pinole police, saying they refuse to tell him anything about the case. “They already decided who is responsible for Alice’s death,” he said. “They don’t want to talk to any lawyers. They don’t want to share information.”
In response to comments that Wong had been in hiding, Buchman said, “Hell no. He hasn’t been hiding ever.”
He said Wong had been in Alberta, Canada for the opening of a Safeway, for which he worked as a computer consultant. Police either knew that information, or could have obtained it with minimal effort, he added.
Bay City News contributed to this article.
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