4 Korean suspects arrested for hate crime/assault robbery of Chinese man in Diamond Bar

Community Message has been issued by the LASD - Headquarters Newsroom (SHB), Los Angeles County Sheriff.


Wednesday February 23, 2011 8:26 PM PST

4 Korean suspects arrested for hate crime/assault robbery of Chinese man in Diamond Bar

Four Korean male suspects have been arrested, including two on Tuesday by Sheriff’s Asian Gang Team detectives, after search and arrest warrants were served in Diamond Bar and West Covina. They were booked for an alleged Hate Crime, Robbery and an Assault with a Deadly Weapon that resulted in great bodily injury to a Chinese-American man.

On February 6, 2011, at about 3:20 AM, at the 18300 block of East Colima Road in Rowland Heights, a 25-year old Chinese-American man entered a Korean restaurant and placed an order for a take-out meal.

A group of seven male Korean adults were eating inside the restaurant. One of the Korean men approached the victim as he waited for his order. The suspect asked the victim if he was Korean, and the victim responded that he was Chinese. A few minutes later, the victim picked up his order and left the restaurant.

Soon thereafter, the male Korean suspect who had approached the victim just a few minutes earlier followed the victim outside. Five other male Koreans soon followed. Once outside the restaurant, the male Koreans (suspects), for no apparent reason, began beating the victim with their hands and feet.

The suspects then vandalized the victim’s car by breaking the windows, removing the side view mirrors, and denting the body of the vehicle causing hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in damage.

The suspects stopped beating the victim only when several by-standers stopped them from the assault. It was later determined that the suspects took the victim’s wallet containing cash and his credit cards. They also took the victim’s GPS navigator from his vehicle.

As a result of the assault, the victim suffered numerous cuts and bruises all over his body, including a large cut on the top of his head which required medical staples.

A witness to this incident provided a license plate number of one of the suspect’s vehicles to responding deputies from the Walnut Station of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Deputies went to the address of the registered owner in Diamond Bar and subsequently arrested Suspect Jachin Yi, 18, a Korean-American.

Walnut Sheriff’s Station deputies also located an ATM card belonging to one of the suspects in the parking lot of the location where the incident took place. They checked the name on the card through sheriff’s department resources and went to the address of the card owner, which was also in Diamond Bar. After interviewing the owner of the card, Suspect Peter Kim, 19, they determined that he was involved in the incident and arrested him.

Investigators from the Asian Gang Team, Operation Safe Streets Bureau of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, continued the investigation.

During the investigation, a surveillance video recording was recovered from the restaurant. The recording showed the suspects and the victim inside the restaurant prior to the assault. Sheriff’s Asian Gang Team investigators reviewed the recording and recognized some of the outstanding suspects from prior contacts. All suspects are members and/or associates of a Korean-American street gang called “Asian Mafia Assassins” which is based mostly in eastern Los Angeles County.

On Tuesday, February 22, 2011, sheriff’s investigators served arrest warrants and search warrants for the outstanding suspects at several locations. Suspects Hwan Joon Huh, 29, of Diamond Bar, and Jae Du, 25, of West Covina, were located in their homes and arrested in connection with the incident.

Efforts to locate at least two other suspects involved in this incident will continue.

Suspects Jachin Yi and Peter Kim have been formally charged with Robbery, Assault with a Deadly Weapon, and Hate Crimes by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office in West Covina Court. They have since been released on bail of $80,000 and $50,000, respectively.

Suspects Hwan Joon Huh and Jae Du are being held at Walnut Sheriff’s Station on $100,000 bail each, on charges of Robbery, Assault with a Deadly Weapon, and Hate Crimes. Formal charges will be sought on Thursday, February 24, 2011, at West Covina Court.

Partner to prevent or report crime by contacting your local Sheriff’s station. Or if you wish to remain Anonymous, call “LA Crime Stoppers” by dialing 800-222-TIPS (8477), texting the letters TIPLA plus your tip to CRIMES (274637), or using the website http://lacrimestoppers.org

Sergeant Steve Kim
Asian Gang Team
Operation Safe Streets Bureau
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
(310) 603-3100
http://www.lasd.org/

Captain Mike Parker
Sheriff’s Headquarters Bureau – Newsroom
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
(323) 267-4800
SHBNewsroom@lasd.org
http://www.lasd.org/

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