David Chen's legal burden is lighter now that two of his criminal charges have been dropped, but for the Chinatown grocer this does little to relieve a heavy heart.

"With this matter in my heart, my head hurts," Chen said Tuesday, speaking in Mandarin.

"This situation is very difficult ... (my family and I) don't sleep very well with this situation still unresolved."

The 35-year-old shopkeeper and two of his employees were arrested following a May 23 incident in which they allegedly chased down and tied up a shoplifter, detaining him in a delivery truck until police arrived.

Chen, Jie Chen, 21, and Qing Li, 40, were charged with assault, forcible confinement, carrying a concealed weapon and kidnapping.

But in a pre-trial hearing Tuesday morning, Crown prosecutor Colleen Hepburn tossed out the latter two charges for all three men.

This was welcome news for Chen and his lawyer, Peter Lindsay, but outside the courthouse, both expressed dismay with the Crown's decision to proceed to trial on the other two charges.

"I don't believe that Mr. Chen should have ever faced criminal charges," Lindsay told a group of reporters in front of Old City Hall.

"My much-preferred outcome would have been that all four (charges) had been dropped."

On Aug. 17, Anthony Bennett pleaded guilty to stealing 10 plants from Chen's Lucky Moose Food Mart on Dundas St. W., as well as plant thefts at another store on King St. W.

Bennett was sentenced to 30 days in prison.

Bennett will now testify as a Crown witness at Chen's trial, which is scheduled to begin on June 21.

If convicted, Chen and his co-accused face a maximum penalty of two years in prison.

Because the kidnapping charge – the only indictable offence – has been withdrawn, Chen can no longer have a juried trial and a judge will determine his fate.

On Tuesday, Lindsay said he doubted any jury would convict Chen, who has seen an outpouring of support, especially from the local Chinese community.

In the courtroom gallery, the back row was filled with Chen's supporters, both friends and strangers.

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Some learned of Chen's situation from a Chinatown flyer distributed by the Victims' Rights Action Committee.

Thousands signed the group's petition in support of Chen.

"Mr. Chen was just doing the right thing any property owner would do to defend their property," said committee member Ricky Chan.

After the hearing, Lindsay reiterated his plans to raise the constitutional issue of whether Chen enacted a valid citizen's arrest.

Under the criminal code, a property owner can only arrest someone if they're caught committing a crime, Lindsay explained.

Chen didn't catch Bennett red-handed, but the theft was captured on surveillance camera and Chen caught Bennett nearly an hour later when he returned to Lucky Moose.

"The current law of citizen's arrest is too narrow," Lindsay said.

Chen complained on Tuesday that his court dates have cost him both time and money.

He worries about juggling his legal issues while also running a business and supporting his two young children, ages 6 and 2, he said.

"In China, if this happened, a lot of people in the area would help, plus the police would arrive immediately," he said in Mandarin.

"The thief would be on trial, not the store owner."

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