Convenience store owner sentenced for killing shoplifter
Members of Min Kim’s family were overcome with emotion as he was taken away in handcuffs to serve more than eight years in prison for second-degree murder. His father in-law reached out to touch his face as he walked by in handcuffs, while a woman beat her chest and wept loudly, collapsing to the ground in grief. The 31-year-old Kim pleaded guilty earlier this year to shooting and killing Jakeel Mason after he caught Mason shoplifting at the Spanaway, Washington, convenience store he owned with his family in March 2016. Prosecutors said Kim pulled a gun on Mason after he spotted him stealing items, then put it away when Mason put up his hands and backed away. Then Kim started fighting with the victim. According to a probable-cause affidavit, when Mason broke free and ran toward the door, Kim shot him twice in the back, killing him. Kim told Pierce County Superior Court Judge John Hickman he was sorry for the murder and accepted responsibility. “I did not have the right to take Mr. Mason’s life, or anyone else’s life,” Kim said as he stood before Hickman. “I feel terrible that I did so, and will have to live with that for the rest of my life.”
The shooting came a little more than a month after Kim’s wife, Seul Lim, was shot and wounded during a shootout with a robber at the store. She suffered only minor injuries. Lim told the court that shooting took a toll on her husband. “I was shot by a robber and after that my husband struggled in fear,” Lim said. Prosecutors asked for a sentence of a little more than 10 years, while Kim’s attorney asked the court for a sentence of just two years, saying he was still distraught because of his wife’s shooting at the time of Mason’s death. Hickman decided on eight years and four months, saying despite Kim’s anger over what happened to his wife, he had no right to kill an unarmed shoplifter. “The use of deadly force, when your own safety is not threatened, does not justify shooting someone in the back,” Hickman said. [For more: KIRO7 News]
Couple accused of stealing $40K worth of liquor
Police in Surprise, Arizona, have arrested a Buckeye couple believed to have stolen more than $40,000 worth of liquor from various Fry’s stores. Officers arrested Summerlea Hunt, 33, and Joshua Atherton, 37, Monday after a two-month investigation into an organized retail theft operation. Working with the Fry’s Food Stores Organized Retail Crime Investigations team, investigators “identified the Buckeye couple as being responsible for more than 100 cases …,” Sgt. Tim Klarkowski wrote in a news alert announcing the arrest. That averages out to about $400 worth of alcohol per incident. Investigators believe the pair hit several stores throughout Maricopa County.
When officers arrested Hunt and Atherton, they had just walked out of a Fry’s store “carrying backpacks filled with stolen liquor,” according to Klarkowski. “They subsequently indicated they had been engaged in these activities since December 2016,” he said. Hunt and Atherton were booked into Maricopa County’s Fourth Avenue Jail on suspicion of numerous felony charges, including organized retail theft, trafficking in stolen property, removing an anti-theft device and fraudulent schemes. At this point, it is not clear if either Hunt or Atherton has a criminal record. “Organized Retail Crime costs the retail industry approximately $30 billion each year,” according to the National Retail Federation. “It is continuing to grow, with 83 percent of merchants surveyed reporting an increase in the past year, according to the 12th annual Organized Retail Crime survey. [For more: KPAX8 News]
Apparent parents & kids shoplifting together [Video]
In new surveillance video captured inside a Dillards in Colorado’s Southwest Plaza Mall in Denver, an apparent mother and daughter are seen looking at jewelry, purses and other items. On the other side of the department store is a possible father and son. Deputies in Jefferson County say they were all shoplifting and concealing the goods they were taking off the shelves and racks. Detectives say they need to find the family. Jenny Fulton, spokeswoman for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, says the situation is unfortunate. “The children were involved in the theft. That’s our biggest concern, of course, is the welfare of the children,” she said. The girl seen in the images is believed to be 10 and the boy is approximately 7. Fulton says their ages elevate the severity of the crime for the adults in the video, making it a felony for contributing to the delinquency of minors.
When security confronted the family after they paid for some but not all of the things, they all ran off. In the process, the little girl lost her shoe. Police say that item is now evidence in their case. Deputies say after the family ran from the mall, located near the intersection of South Wadsworth Boulevard and West Bowles Avenue, they drove off in a white Dodge Magnum station wagon with a temporary license plate. The adult woman was described as being white or Hispanic with long dark brown or black hair. She was wearing light jeans with a black belt and black shoes and had sunglasses in her hair. The adult male was described as being Hispanic and he was wearing a white polo shirt, jeans and sunglasses. Anyone with helpful information about the case is asked to call the Jefferson County Sheriff’s department via the JCSO tip line at 303-271-5612 (ask for Investigator M. Clark) or Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-STOP (7867), reference case number 17-13777. [For more: CBS4 News ]
Attack victim sues retail giant
A Dallas, Texas, actor who suffered brain damage from an attack in a Target parking lot is suing the retailer for not preventing the assault. According to the lawsuit, the two teenage assailants left Derek Whitener, artistic and education director of The Firehouse Theater in Farmers Branch with several medical challenges. He has trouble using his right hand to perform high-level motor tasks, has impaired mental function, difficulty with speech and other problems. “Derek’s life has been forever changed because of this preventable attack,” said Mr. Whitener’s attorney, Chris Hamilton of Dallas law firm Standly Hamilton, LLP. “His injuries are similar to a stroke victim. He faces a long road to recovery, including extensive medical care, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and counseling.”
Whitener stopped at the Target in Dallas’ Uptown section on January 14, 2017, to pick up some groceries. As he walked through the Target parking lot, he was approached by two men, one carrying a wooden rod. Another Target customer also reported seeing the men. Once inside the store, Whitener told the store’s head of asset protection and other employees what happened. They told him he did not need to call police, promising they would handle the situation. Store AP asked the would-be assailants to leave and later assured Whitener it was safe for him to exit the store and walk to his car. But as he left the store unaccompanied by asset protection, the two men reappeared, one wearing a gorilla mask.
According to the lawsuit, they viciously beat Whitener with the rod saying, “We heard you were afraid of us. We will give you something to fear.” Whitener suffered a fractured skull and brain injury that required surgery and an extended stay in the hospital. The lawsuit cites crime statistics for the Uptown Target location, which show that in the three years leading up to the attack, police responded to 223 calls there, for robbery, theft, car burglary and other crimes. Police also responded to at least 94 calls of major violent disturbances during the same reporting period. In the last year, Dallas police reported at least 32 major violent disturbances, six emergency disturbances and six major disturbances requiring an ambulance at the store. Dallas police arrested an unidentified juvenile and 17-year-old Zantrell Sauls in connection with the attack. Sauls is charged with aggravated assault, a second-degree felony. [For more: CBS DFW11 News]
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