Duck sauce suspect charged with murder of Chinese food delivery worker raises $500K bail
By Carl Samson
Glenn Hirsch, the Queens man accused of fatally shooting food delivery worker Zhiwen Yan, has reportedly raised $500,000 to get himself out of jail as early as next week.
Yan, 45, was making a delivery near 108th Street and 67th Drive at around 9:30 p.m. on April 30 when someone began firing shots in his direction, according to police. The incident occurred just half a mile from Great Wall restaurant, Yan’s workplace for over two decades.
Hirsch, 51, was arrested in connection to the shooting on June 1. An investigation revealed that the Great Wall patron had been involved in a series of disturbing encounters with the restaurant’s staff, which allegedly stemmed from a duck sauce dispute last November.
At the time, Hirsch reportedly asked for more duck sauce after already taking an entire bin. While staff members fulfilled his request, he still demanded a refund and called the police when they refused to return his money.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz called Hirsch’s demand for more duck sauce an “obsessive point of contention.” During a search, the authorities found that his refrigerator was filled with duck sauce and other condiments, with one police source labeling him a “hoarder.”
Hirsch, who pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges, attended a bail hearing on Thursday. His brother, Lee Hirsch, told the Daily Mail that he had a check for $500,000 to present to the court.
Judge Daniel Lewis set Hirsch’s bail conditions, which include getting an ankle monitor and surrendering his passport. Judge Kenneth Holder, who set Hirsch’s bail, will determine on Monday whether or not to release him.
Hirsch was reported to have at least nine prior arrests between 1995 and 2012, one of which involved an armed robbery. But his lawyer, Michael Horn, said they are “not relevant.”
“We know that accusations are meaningless without any judication,” Horn told the Daily Mail. “The District Attorney is taking what I consider to be a thin case and trying to put as much garnish as possible to make the sandwich look bigger.”
Yan, who immigrated from China to the U.S. in 2001, is survived by his wife, Kunying Zhao, and their three young children. Community members described him as the “hardest working guy in the neighborhood.”
“Anytime you’d pass he’d say ‘hello my friend,’” Philip Jacoby told Spectrum News. “Snow, rain, hurricane he was out delivering. He was the nicest guy.”
A GoFundMe campaign set up for Yan’s three children last month managed to collect $154,160. Zhao is still raising funds for her late husband in a separate campaign.
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