Store owner guilty of murdering shoplifter

By Pat Jenkins

The Dispatch

"Frustration" with crime, including an earlier armed robbery attempt in which his wife was wounded, has sent a Spanaway store owner to prison for his fatal shooting of a shoplifter.

Min Sik Kim, 31, was sentenced June 23 to eight years in prison after being convicted in Pierce County Superior Court of murder in the shooting last year of 21-year-old Jakeel Rashon Mason.

Kim was accused of shooting Mason in the back as he tried to flee Kim’s store after being caught shoplifting and a subsequent fight with Kim.

The incident happened the month after Kim’s wife was working as a clerk in their store in February 2016 when it was robbed by a different person. She and the robber fired guns at each other. One of the robber's shots hit her, but she survived.

In the second incident a month later, Kim went too far, according to Prosecuting Atttorney Mark Lindquist.

“The defendant’s frustrations were understandable, but his actions were not lawful,” Lindquist said. “This resolution takes into account Mr. Kim's circumstances and also holds him accountable."

Kim accepted the jury's decision.

“I’m here to take responsibility for my actions in taking Mason’s life,” he told Superior Court Judge John Hickman during his sentencing. “I accept the consequences. I did not have the right to take his life.”

Prosecutors gave this account of the murder:

On March 25, 2016, a group of men were loitering outside Kim’s store, the Pacific Quick Shop, at 16618 Pacific Ave. Kim went outside to tell them to leave. Video surveillance from inside the store showed that while Kim was outside, Mason was inside trying to steal cigarettes from behind the counter.

As Kim re-entered the store, he was carrying a handgun. He pointed it at Mason, physically grabbed Mason and forced him further into the store. Mason put both hands up and wasn't resisting. Kim then put the gun in a holster before punching Mason in the face. The two men exchanged punches and Kim wound up on the floor.

Mason pulled away from Kim and tried to run out of the store, but Kim stood up, pulled his gun from the holster and shot Mason twice in the back.

Mason collapsed in the doorway and died before medical aid arrived.