AICHI (TR) – An investigative source with the Aichi Prefectural Police revealed on Saturday that an organized crime member accused in the shooting death of a rival boss in Nagoya has died, reports the Asahi Shimbun (Nov. 6).
According to the source, Masami Yokoyama, a 65-year-old member of the Yamaguchi-gumi, died due to natural causes in a hospital early Saturday morning.
Yokohama entered the hospital after being prosecuted on murder charges in the killing on July 15 of Tatsuo Saiki, a 64-year-old upper-level member of the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi.
In carrying out the crime, two assailants entered a fourth-floor residence of a building in the Shinsakae area of Naka Ward and shot Saiki in the head and chest. He was confirmed dead about one and a half hours later after being transported to a nearby hospital.
In September, police arrested Yokoyama, fellow gang member Tatsumasa Katakura, 47, and former member Tatsuki Mitsui, 45, for allegedly conspiring to kill Saiki.
Yokoyama was an acquaintance of Saiki. Prior to the shooting, Yokoyama arrived at the residence to provide instructions to shooters Katakura and Mitsui.
A 68-year-old man was also inside the room at the time of the incident. Police subsequently charged him with violating the stimulants control law.
During his trial in August, he said that one unidentified person was seen fleeing from the room following the shooting. That person is believed to have been Yokoyama.
According to the investigative source, the witness also died in a hospital on November 5.
The first hearing in the murder trial for the case has not yet been held.
