Friday, January 28, 2011

A capital murder trial is scheduled to begin for an Asian street gang member accused of shooting a woman to death and attempting to kill six others in a restaurant

Stephenson Choi Kim, 31, is accused of killing Venus Hyun, 22, in 2004 while shed dined with friends. Kim and six other gang members allegedly drove to the restaurant on March 14, 2004, where Hyun and six friends were eating dinner, prosecutors said. Two of the gang members went inside and asked the victims if any of them belonged to a gang. One of the people in Hyun's party, Richard Woodhead, told them he used to be in a gang but was no longer affiliated with them and the two gangs were not rivals. The pair then left and shared their conversation with Kim, prosecutors said. Kim then allegedly entered the crowded cafe with a firearm while the others waited outside. Moments later, Kim shot at the group with a .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun, according to authorities. Hyun, whom prosecutors described as an innocent bystander, was shot in the back. The bullet ricocheted off her shoulder blade, ultimately lodging in her brain, prosecutors said. She was pronounced dead at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center.

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