Soon Ja Du

Encyclopedia : S : SO : SOO : Soon Ja Du

Soon Ja Du is a Korean American immigrant who shot and killed Latasha Harlins, an African-American teenager at Empire Liquor in Los Angeles, CA on March 16, 1991. The incident had occurred just 13 days after the videotaped beating of Rodney King by LAPD officers.

The shooting incident

On the morning of March 16, 1991, Du was working behind the counter of the store although it was normally staffed by Du's husband. Billy Heung Ki Du and her son, Charles. However Charles had received death threats from gang members and was not at work that day, and her husband who was the owner of the store, was sleeping in the family van.

Du saw Latasha Harlins slip a $1.79 bottle of juice in her backpack. Although Harlins then approached the store's counter with money in hand, Du incorrectly assumed that she was trying to steal the juice. She then confronted Harlins and the incident became physical. Du grabbed Harlins' sweater, and Harlins then pulled free and punched Du several times in the face, knocking Du to the ground. Du then took a stool and threw it at Harlins and emerged with a gun from behind the counter. Harlins then turned around and began to walk out of the store. As she did so, Du shot Harlins in the back of the head, instantly killing the girl. Du then fainted. ^{[#endnote_video]}^{[#endnote_video2]} This incident heated up the already tense race relations in Los Angeles.

Du was charged with murder but was convicted by a jury of voluntary manslaughter, which recommended a 16 year jail sentence. Du was sentenced to five years of probation, four hundred hours of community service, and a $500 fine. Du had faced eleven years in prison. Her light sentence, handed down by Judge Joyce Karlin, was perceived by many as an indication of the value that society placed on the lives of African Americans in Los Angeles. Anger over the incident was a precipitating factor in the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Korean-owned businesses were targeted for burning and looting during the riots.

Facts and Triva

Du's lead attorney during her trial was Charles Lloyd, an African-American.

Notes

↑ "Slain Girl Was Not Stealing Juice, Police Say Shooting", Los Angeles Times, March 19, 1991
↑ "A Senseless and Tragic Killing New tension for Korean-American and African-American communities", Los Angeles Times, March 20, 1991

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.