Culprit sentenced in fatal shooting
2003 DEATH: Seven-year prison term handed to man for role in killing outside restaurant
A man who was involved in a fatal shooting outside a Coquitlam sushi restaurant 10 years ago has been sentenced to seven years in prison.
Jason Hyun Kim, 29, was charged with second-degree murder, but pleaded guilty in September to manslaughter. He was sentenced Thursday in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster.
The incident took place at Boss Sushi Cafe on North Road, where 19-year-old Kim and three friends — two men and a woman — met for an evening out on May 31, 2003.
Heung “Charlie” Lee, 27, and a group of about 14 people were also at the restaurant celebrating a birthday.
There was some kind of interaction between the two groups outside the restaurant and words were exchanged. Everyone had been drinking.
The situation became further inflamed when Lee said, in Korean, something along the lines of “So, do you want to die?” or “You’re going to be dead.”
The argument continued after both groups went inside and a member of Kim’s group threw a glass or beer bottle at Lee and his friends.
A melee ensued, which spilled outside the restaurant. Punches and kicks were exchanged. At one point, one of the three men from Kim’s group went to Kim’s car, retrieved a handgun and shot three times at Lee’s group.
Everyone ran back toward the restaurant, but one of the bullets struck Lee in the back.
Kim and his friends fled. Police were called and when they arrived at the scene around 1:30 a.m. on June 1, Lee was on the ground at the entrance to the restaurant. Lee was rushed to hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 2:40 a.m.
“This was a completely pointless and unnecessary attack on Mr. Lee,” Justice Kathleen Ker said in her decision.
Kim was arrested and charged with murder on June 26, 2003, and released on bail five weeks later. In February 2004, a warrant was issued for Kim’s arrest after he failed to make a court appearance. Kim remained missing for more than seven years.
He was arrested on July 25, 2011 for possession of heroin for the purpose of trafficking. However, Kim gave police his younger brother’s name and his true identity did not come to light until Kim was fingerprinted.
Kim pleaded guilty to the drug charge and was sentenced to one day in jail. He also admitted to obstruction and was sentenced to two months in jail.
Crown prosecutor Wendy Stephen said in her submissions that the plea to the lesser charge of manslaughter was accepted because there was no substantial chance of a murder conviction.
“We simply don’t know who fired the gun,” Stephen said.
Ker said Lee was clearly a much-loved son, brother and family member and his family has been left devastated and bereft. They have waited 10 years for some form of closure.
“The Lee family’s anguish has no doubt been prolonged by the delay,” Ker said.
Kim’s sentence was reduced by four years, three months after he was given double credit for time already served. Two years, nine months remain in his sentence.