Chow stated he carried a letter of introduction from the leader of his gang in Hong Kong when he emigrated to San Francisco . In an early incident , when he was 17 , he was dropped off at a home in Hillsborough and was told to beat the resident to send a message from La Cosa Nostra ; he finished the beating with the help of a two-by-four in two minutes and earned $ 3,000 . One year after arriving in the city , Chow was dining at the Golden Dragon with other Hop Sing Boys members during the infamous Golden Dragon massacre in 1977 . In the wake of the 1977 shooting , the Wah Ching were ascendant and the Hop Sing were chased out of San Francisco . Chow 's first conviction was in 1978 , for an armed robbery in Chinatown , San Francisco which occurred on February 17 , 1978 . Chow was identified as one of a trio of robbers who held up a group of 23 at a meeting of the Chinese-American Institute of Engineers . While one of the victims was being returned from the Hall of Justice , he identified Chow as one of the robbers , as Chow was wearing a distinctive jade ring and medallion . Chow received an 11-year sentence , of which he served 7 years and 4 months . During this first stint in prison , Chow studied to become a deep-sea welder , but his education was interrupted by a prison riot and he turned to dealing heroin inside San Quentin instead . He was released on April 30 , 1985 . After being released , Chow stopped at a noodle shop on his way back to San Francisco ; at the shop , he convinced the prostitutes outside to work for him and he set up an escort service . One year later , in 1986 , Chow was charged with 28 counts of assault with a deadly weapon , attempted murder , mayhem , and illegal possession of a firearm , related to the shooting of David Quach , a Wah Ching gang member , at the Golden Key Restaurant in San Francisco . Quach had been in an altercation with Chow 's sister-in-law , Karen Ma . Chow was convicted in 1987 and sentenced to serve three years in prison . He was released in 1989 . After his second release , Chow said he tried to renounce crime and found work as a bagger in a Daly City grocery store , but he left that job when his boss became suspicious after receiving a phone call from the SFPD gang task force . He also tried to work as a bodyguard in an Oakland Casino , but met Peter Chong shortly afterward
Golden Dragon massacre
Golden Dragon massacre
Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow