politics
California fugitive returned from Laos after nine years
A man accused of two California killings was captured in Laos in May and flown to Los Angeles on June 9. He now faces murder charges in Santa Clara and Orange counties.
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A California man wanted in two killings was returned to the United States this week after nearly a decade on the run in Laos. Myung Jin Kim, 31, was arrested in Laos in May for using fraudulent travel documents.
2016 San Jose case Prosecutors say Kim arranged a 2016 murder-for-hire plot in San Jose. The intended target survived, but another man was killed instead. San Jose police later linked Kim to the shooting and issued an arrest warrant. Kim left the area before officers could locate him.
2018 Westminster killing Two years later, while free on bail in Orange County after a drug conviction, Kim allegedly shot his friend Christian Kim six times outside a Westminster CVS. Prosecutors say the shooting stemmed from a money dispute. A second murder warrant was issued, but Kim again disappeared.
Capture and return Investigators later connected Kim to both cases and added charges of attempted murder and conspiracy. In December he was located in Laos. After coordination among several agencies, he was flown back to face trial. Authorities said this is the first time a wanted fugitive has been returned to the United States from Laos.
"Mr. Kim’s cowardly acts of violence finally caught up with him, despite being halfway across the globe," Patrick Grandy, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, said.
