Dus testimony was contradicted by the two eye-witnesses and the video which was revived from the store security camera. She passed away on Christmas Day in 2018. convenience store clerk Soon Ja Du, a Korean immigrant, laid the foundation of anger and resentment that would eventually explode after the King verdict. Continue reading to find out more about what happened, and to learn what her legal fate was. These successful stars have us asking, "Remember when?" See all the photos. Du reportedly claimed she saw Harlins put an orange juice bottle in her backpack and asked Harlins if he was going to pay for it, to which Harlins replied, What orange juice? So Du grabbed Harlins Lyns sweater, accused her of stealing, and snatched her backpack. At the trial, Soon Ja Du testified that she killed Latasha in self-defense, but the witness testimony and stores security camera presented contrary evidence. Considering that Joyce gave a stricter sentence to a man from Glendale for kicking a dog, Dus punishment seemed like a farce to many. On the morning of March 16, 1991, Soon Ja Du was on duty at the store, while her husband was outside. Defendant Soon Ja Du was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the killing of Latasha Harlins, a customer in defendant's store. Any further update on her whereabouts is not known. In the security camera footage, you see a scuffle between the two. Tobar was The Times bureau chief in Mexico City and Buenos Aires and was part of the reporting team that won a Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the 1992 L.A. riots. The route that the black rioters took was wide roads like Western and Vermont, and it kept getting closer to our home my son went out despite my dissuading him from getting involved. On November 15, 1991, Soon Ja Du was convicted for voluntary manslaughter and was potentially facing up to 16 years behind bars for the incident. Those of us of the first generation, including myself and others, have no particular strength. It is not a time for revenge. But she didn't belong [on the bench] anyway. Now that I think about it, our kids at our work -- well, even cleaning during night hours was a work for us -- at times, we brought our kids, and what I regret to this day is, having worked even a third job. After I gave birth to my son, I was very happyWhen [Eddie] was first born, I saw other Korean women having baby-sitters, and I didn't think it was appropriate to have others take care of my baby. [19] Karlin resigned from the bench in 1997. Lee spoke to John Ridley in an interview for the documentary "Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982-1992. The following are excerpts. Soon Ja Du - the market's Korea-born owner saw the orange juice sticking out of Harlins' backpack and assumed she was stealing it, even though the teenager had cash in her hand. [41], Denise Harlins interrupted an awards ceremony at the Biltmore Hotel for Du defense attorney Charles Lloyd. So with the help of the owner we got a basement room, where, when you look outside, you could only see peoples feet walking by. Or if not, help at least. Harlins turned to walk away when Du took out a gun and fired. In July, following the 1992 Los Angeles riots, the Harlins received a $300,000 settlement. Soon Ja Du, a 51-year-old Korean store owner ultimately charged with 1st degree murder, claimed she was trying to steal the juice. . [16], On November 15, 1991, a jury found that Du's decision to fire the gun was fully within her control and that she fired the gun voluntarily. After all, a video of an immigrant Korean store owner shooting the teenager in the back of her head followed at the heels of the Rodney King incident. West Gate Prison looked like that. Defendant was sentenced to 10 years in state prison. The life was in another word, I felt like we were not treated as human beings. So without knowing the full story, I just thought, wow, shes badly beaten. But I dont think it was justifiable to kill. Latasha Harlins was born January 1, 1976,[5][6] in East St. Louis, Illinois, to Crystal Harlins and Sylvester "Vester" Acoff Sr. Latasha had one younger brother, Vester Acoff Jr., and one younger sister, Christina. According to the videotape from the surveillance camera in the store, Du proceeded to snatch the teenagers backpack, after which Latasha punched Du twice, knocking her to the ground. Carlin added: This is not the time for revenge Whatever sentence this court imposes on Mrs. Du, she will be punished every day for the rest of her life. . In this article, we take a look at the incident, and how it paved the way for those racial tensions that eventually burned LA in the 1992 riots. So he was very enraged and convinced that he had to go out and combat. Harlins then picked up the orange juice bottle that had fallen in the chaos, but Du took the bottle from her. And whether consciously or unconsciously, we all hold biases internallyBut I hope that people will come to be more generous and gracious, and that a more prosperous time can be passed on to the second and third generations. We arrived in Virginia in April or early May. In return, Harlins punched Du twice, knocking her to the ground. SOON JA DU The Korean grocer's killing of a 15-year-old black girl, Latasha Harlins, in a dispute over a bottle of orange juice, raised tensions in the black community just two weeks after King's beating. Her husband, Billy Hong Ki Du, or her son generally operated the convenience store on a day-to-day basis. On the afternoon of March 16, 1991, the 15-year-old Harlins In January . Steph Cha's novel Your House Will Pay centers on the aftermath of the murder of a 16-year-old African-American girl in south-central Los Angeles. Harlins then backed away, but Du angrily threw a stool at her, but it didnt hit Harlins. More than anything grand, I imagined that I would work in a big office building, where I would go to work early in the morning, and leave by 5pm and have a plenty of leisure time for hobbies, like eating out at a fancy restaurant. On the anniversary of California's notorious urban uprising, TIME checks in with 15 of the event's key figures to see what they're doing now. Her husband, Billy Hong Ki Du, or her son generally operated the convenience store on a day-to-day basis. "There's always this temptation to write off. George Zimmerman was tried and found not guilty of the murder of Trayvon Martin. Du said that Latasha went to put the juice in her backpack before paying for it, and she then assumed that the teenager had intended on stealing it. Instead, Cha's book keeps it relentlessly real. Protesters, led by Latasha Harlins aunt, Denise, marched outside her Manhattan Beach home and the Compton courthouse where she worked. officers beating Rodney King, and it was mentioned throughout the L.A. Soon's husband, Bill Heung Ki Du heard the gunshot then ran into the store, when he got there Soon appeared confused . She graduated from a university in Seoul, South Korea, where she studied literature. Many pointed out that the sentence handed out to Du was less severe than the 30 days in jail a Glendale man received a week later for kicking and stomping a dog. Soon Ja Du (born 1940), Korean American convenience store owner; Lee Soon-ja (, born 1939), South Korean former first lady, wife of Chun Doo-hwan; Lee Sun-Ja (born 1978 . Copyright 2023 Distractify. Du eventually fell down, and she then threw a nearby stool at Latasha. On November 15, 1991, the jury found Du guilty and delivered the verdict stating that Du fired the gun voluntarily. Mrs. Du was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to five years' probation by Judge Joyce A. Karlin of Los Angeles County Superior Court. the first day of the riots is now referred to as "sa-i-gu" or, 4-2-9 among l.a.-based korean-americans, a community that had already been rattled by the 1991 fatal shooting of a 15-year-old. [22] In July 1992, Latasha's brother and sister received a $300,000 settlement from a civil suit brought against Soon Ja Du, which was paid by the store's insurance policy. The couple have three children; two sons, Joseph and Michelle, and a daughter, Sandy, who studied theology at Biola University in 1991. We were busy making money, raising kids and sending them to a good school and feeding them good food. During the 1992 L.A. uprising, Lees 18-year old son, Edward Jae Song Lee entered the fray to help protect his Koreatown neighborhood, which was virtually abandoned by police. But I did not know that my husband was in the process of filing for immigration; we were dating then. [31] Korean immigrants bought their storefronts in black neighborhoods, specifically South Los Angeles, because the real estate was significantly cheaper than other neighborhoods. [4] The killing of Harlins came 13 days after the videotaped beating of Rodney King. When The Times endorsed one of her opponents, she wrote an impassioned, angry letter to the editor in defense of both her decision and the principle of judicial independence. This case only fuelled the racial fires that eventually resulted in the Los Angeles riots in 1992. Du was tried and convicted of voluntary manslaughter over the killing of Harlins, based in part on security camera footage. In justifying his directive, he said "[t]his was such a stunning miscarriage of justice that Judge Karlin cannot continue to hear criminal cases with any public credibility. Soon Jadu testified on her own behalf, claiming she shot Harlins in self-defense because she believed her life was in danger. Soon Ja Du is a Korean woman who co-owned the Empire Liquor Store in Vermont Vista, Los Angeles. Days after Lees death, thousands of people assembled in Koreatown to march for peace. Following this altercation, Latasha just decided to leave but this was when Du shot her from behind, killing the 15-year old instantly. Her shooter was Soon Ja Du, a Korean American grocer in South Central Los Angeles. "Latasha was defenseless. Before her appointment to the bench, Karlin was an assistant U.S. attorney for 14 years. Dus testimony contradicted two witnesses and video recovered from the stores security cameras. Denise Harlins, Latashas aunt, was unhappy with the judge for obvious reasons, and said, Im glad to hear that shes removed herself from the bench and that shes retired. Distractify is a registered trademark. e-Book FAQ. The gunshot struck Harlins in the back of the head, killing her instantly. In many ways, the shooting death of 15-year-old Latasha Harlins on March 16, 1991 by convenience store clerk Soon Ja Du, a. "'We need programs, we need something where the kids outside can have something to do, or somewhere to go, and we could start up tournaments'". In a written statement, Karlin, 46, now a judge in Juvenile Dependency Court, said she was ending her seven-year judicial career to spend more time with her family. The uneasy relationship rapidly deteriorated after the killing of Latasha Harlins, a 15-year-old girl who was shot in the back of the head by Korean convenience store owner Soon Ja Du in 1991 over an allegation of shoplifting. The Rodney King images on television shocked me. Soon Ja Du, her face beginning to swell and discolor from the four punches Harlins landed during a brief struggle between the two, ostensibly over a $1.79 bottle of orange juice, crouched on top of the counter trying to see where Harlins had fallen. Where is Soon Ja Du now? "All you people sitting, applauding over a child killer," Harlins yelled. As Du was guilty of voluntary manslaughter, the jury recommended the maximum prison sentence for the crime, which was 16 years. Du claimed that Harlins tried to steal a bottle of orange juice. Most Read; . Acoff Sr. was known to be abusive towards Crystal, attacking and beating her in front of Latasha and her younger siblings. Of a 16-year-old African-American girl in south-central Los Angeles had to go out and combat 14. Store on a day-to-day basis treated as human beings bottle from her legal fate was husband was in the,! Who co-owned the Empire Liquor store in Vermont Vista, Los Angeles riots in 1992 husband was.... 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