In the weeks that followed, Chinese American activists held protests and waved signs that demanded "Justice for Grandpa Chen."
The deadly confrontation prompted several Democratic members of Congress to issue a statement demanding an investigation and questioning "how a game of Pokémon Go turned into a fatal shooting."
Two different narratives emerged: Cromwell's attorney contended that he had acted in self-defence, fearing that Chen, who had previously been warned about trespassing at the clubhouse, would mow him down in his minivan.
'He speaks nothing! No English'
An alternative version, supported by Chen's family, held that the unarmed Chinese immigrant had presented no threat to anyone and simply might not have understood the security guard's commands to leave, since he understood few English words besides "sorry" and "bye."
"I speak a little bit of English," his brother, Jianguo Chen, told WAVY the day after the shooting.
"Him? He speaks nothing! No English."
In a criminal trial that concluded last week in Virginia Beach, jurors sided with Chen's relatives, whose narrative was backed by prosecutors and police.
On Monday, the jury recommended that Cromwell, now 23, face a sentence of 30 years in prison, after finding him guilty of second-degree murder and using a firearm to commit that murder. The sentencing will take place on June 24.
Chen's relatives described him as a family man and a hard worker.
In a statement provided through their lawyer, they told the Virginian-Pilot that he had grown up in Fujian Province, China, and dropped out of school after sixth grade to work in a mine so that he could earn money for his family.
Some 28 years before his death, he immigrated to the United States "in pursuit of happiness and religious freedom" and worked as a chef in New York before opening his own restaurant, serving Mongolian food in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. Meanwhile, he saved up money so that the rest of his relatives could get green cards to join him in the United States.
To bond with younger members of his family, Chen had learned to play Pokémon Go, his nephew, Steven Chen, testified during the trial. He quickly became absorbed with the game: A forensic expert said that the last activity on Chen's Pokémon Go app was recorded at 11.06pm on the night of the shooting, minutes before he was killed.
Cromwell's attorney alleged that Chen repeatedly trespassed at the community association's clubhouse after hours and had been barred twice in the 18 months leading up to his death.
Shooter wanted to join the Secret Service
During the trial, the security guard testified that he had seen the minivan turn down the driveway late at night and had gone out to investigate. When he got out of his car, he recognised the 60-year-old grandfather of three, whom he had banned from the clubhouse 10 days before.
Chen began reversing the van, and acted as if he was going to run him over, Cromwell claimed. He said that he yelled, "Stop the vehicle," but Chen shook his head no. Thinking about his younger brother, who had been killed in a car accident just months before, he decided to open fire.
"I didn't want my mother to receive another phone call," he told the court, according to WTKR.
Though the shooting wasn't captured on video, a neighbour's security camera recording confirmed that Cromwell had told Chen to stop and put the car in park before he began shooting.
But prosecutors pointed to some inconsistencies in his account: He had told a detective that he yelled at least 10 to 15 times for Chen to stop, but the recording only showed him doing so three times before he started firing. In addition, Chen had his foot on the brake when authorities arrived and found him dead inside the minivan, leading prosecutors to cast doubt on the security guard's claim that he was at risk of being run over.
Additional testimony revealed that Cromwell was supposed to call police when a situation seemed like it might escalate, rather than use deadly force.
In January of this year, Chen's family filed a separate civil suit against Cromwell, the River Walk Community Association, and Citywide Protection Services, the company that employed Cromwell as a security guard.
They allege that Cromwell had a "dangerous, aggressive, erratic, careless and violent" disposition, had previously been fired by another employer for his excessive use of force and was known for brandishing his gun when it wasn't strictly necessary.
Cromwell's attorney, Andrew Sacks, who has also represented Citywide Protection Services in the case, told WTKR that the suit was "without merit," and noted that Cromwell has consistently maintained that he acted in self-defense.
On the witness stand, Cromwell cried and expressed remorse over the man's death, WTKR reported. His mother testified that he had been accepted into a training program for the Virginia State Police before the shooting and wanted to go into the Secret Service.
Meanwhile, in court last month, Chen's nephew Wenren Chen said that his family's world had been "completely broken," according to the Pilot.
He added that his relatives have stopped holding large family gatherings because Chen's elderly parents still don't know that he died, and the grief might break them.
