‘I just want to shoot and go home:’ brazen Nanaimo drive-by shooting trial starts

Dressed in a suit and wearing black-rimmed glasses, the defendant rose from the prisoner’s box to plead not guilty, leaving the Crown’s Gregory Furmaniuk to outline the Crown’s case.

Gunshots from a handgun riddled the SUV driven by Yasin Khan. He was pronounced dead on scene. (Image Credit: Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Furmaniuk said the murder victim was a man with enemies.

“Who exactly wanted him dead and why they wanted him dead may never be clear, but what we do know is that someone arranged for his murder and we will argue they hired Mr. Ronald Joseph Campbell to do it.”

Khan reverse-parked his BMW behind the Wendy’s during a sunny spring afternoon, Furmaniuk relayed.

The victim was shot three times as he sat in his SUV after meeting up with another person.

Furmaniuk contends Campbell, driving a white Cadillac Escalade, pulled in front of Khan’s car and fired five shots.

One bullet passed through his left cheek and went out the other side of his face, another hit his left arm, and a third shot into his torso, injuring Khan’s heart, lungs and spleen.

“He died on scene,” Furmaniuk told the trial, who said the Crown will rely on a multitude of evidence, including tracking Campbell’s travels from Cranbrook to the mid-Island.

In the minutes before the shooting, the Crown’s theory is that Campbell closely followed Khan for the short drive from his Rock City Rd. apartment complex to Wendy’s.

Crown counsel alleges Campbell followed Khan from his apartment unit on Rock City Rd., then followed him to nearby Rock City Centre. (Image Credit: Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

“Mr. Campbell had been lying in wait for Mr. Khan to leave the apartment building for some time.”

An on-scene witness told NanaimoNewsNOW that he heard five gunshot “pops” and saw a white male driving a white SUV “going pretty fast” right after the shots were fired.

After the shooting around 3:30 p.m., Furmaniak told the trial Campbell drove his Escalade to a pre-arranged burn site on Gilfillan Rd., located in the north Jingle Pot area off Biggs Rd.

Crown counsel alleges the failed burning of Campbell’s getaway vehicle happened on Gilfillan Rd., just up the street to the left in his photo. (Image Credit: Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

The Crown alleges Campbell then fled the area, but didn’t specify how.

Three accomplices, according to the Crown, showed up in a Dodge caravan and unsuccessfully tried to burn the Escalade.

“One civilian encountered them on Gilfillan Rd. at about 3:43 p.m., became suspicious and followed them as they drove away. They fled the Cadillac Escalade and left behind the unburned cell phone, gun, clothing and other items that Mr. Campbell had expected would be burned,” Furmaniuk said.

He noted the three accomplices drove to the Best Western Northgate Inn on Metral Dr. where they were arrested just after 4 p.m.

Nanaimo RCMP tracked three suspects to the Best Western Northgate Inn on Metral Dr. and made arrests about a half-hour after the shooting. (Image Credit: Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Nanaimo RCMP secured and probed the abandoned Escalade.

Furmaniuk stated police found a loaded Glock handgun inside the vehicle, as well as Campbell’s DNA and fingerprints.

Notably, an iPhone with evidence the Crown states connects the device to the accused, was examined.

GPS data tracked the phone’s journey from the Kootenays through to Vancouver and onward to an Airbnb in Ladysmith.

Furmaniuk alleged the phone was with Campbell as the accused gunman waited outside Khan’s apartment complex.

Pictures of the Glock handgun were found on the phone, the Crown’s Furmaniuk relayed to court.

Messages on the phone contained “key admissions” in the words of Furmaniuk, including admitting to being paid a significant sum of money, being treated like royalty and receiving accommodation.

“He also says, ‘I just want to shoot and go home.'”

Crown counsel intends to display several forms of evidence, including police witnesses, experts in various fields, such as DNA, fingerprints, digital evidence, forensic pathology and gunshot residue.

Civilian witnesses are also slated to testify, while surveillance footage will also be relied upon.

“Our primary theory is that, while he worked in concert with others, he himself pulled the trigger,” Furmaniuk stated.

Also on Monday, Nanaimo RCMP Cst. Ian Gray, an exhibits officer, displayed several items allegedly linking Campbell to the murder, including a jacket, hoodie, medical mask and BC Ferries receipt from Tsawwassen to Duke Point, dated May 14, 2021.

The trial is overseen by veteran BC Supreme Court Justice Douglas Thompson.

Campbell, who remains in custody, was denied bail in April 2025 and ordered to stand trial last September.

The first-degree murder charge against Campbell was approved in early July 2024.

The Crown’s Furmaniuk is joined by prosecutor Nick Barber.

Campbell is represented by Victoria-based criminal defence attorneys Jordan Watt and Bryan McPhail.

Nanaimo RCMP stated its belief the shooting was linked to a Lower Mainland gang conflict.

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by Ian Holmes

‘I just want to shoot and go home:’ brazen Nanaimo drive-by shooting trial starts

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