The accused, Chung Kim, 76:
The deceased, Michelle Jackson and Jaime Stafford:
Posted on 01/08/2014 6:36:05 AM PST by Drew68
On January 7, the capital murder trial began for a man charged with killing his neighbors after a prolonged dog-poop dispute. Issues of race, language, economics and age complicate the already unusual case.
Chung Kim, 76, allegedly shot and killed Michelle Jackson and Jaime Stafford on February 4, 2013, at Sable Ridge Condominiums in North Dallas. Jackson and Stafford, who were African-Americans in their 30s, lived in the unit above Kim and his wife. Kim, a South Korean immigrant, is using an interpreter for the trial and has previously stated he acted in self-defense.
It is well-documented that Jackson and Stafford frequently washed dog feces from their balcony onto Kim’s. The condo’s homeowners association received reports of dog-poop dumping dating back to August 2012.
Kim provided photos of his balcony’s poop-streaked windows, floors and walls to a variety of entities. Animal control eventually took the couple’s dog away, but the poop problems didn’t end. In December 2012, after Jackson gave birth to her fifth child, the couple began tossing dirty diapers over their balcony and onto the unit below them.
Kim and his wife owned their first floor condo and had lived there for more than a decade. Jackson was renting her unit through Section 8 housing on a month-to-month lease. In addition to voicing his complaints with the condo association, Kim reported the excrement issues to the Dallas Police Department, the City of Dallas Health and Human Services Department.
Condo maintenance supervisor Keith Morris said he was aware of the ongoing dispute between Kim and his neighbors. Morris said he had personally cleaned Kim’s balcony on at least two occasions, and once used a power washer to remove the poop.
Morris testified that he was picking up trash in the parking lot on February 4, 2013, when he heard Kim yelling, followed by two gunshots. Then, he saw Jackson’s body lying on the floor of her second-story balcony.
Assistant district attorney Herschel Woods asked Morris who fired the gun.
“I was in shock,” Morris said. “It was Mr. Kim.”
Morris testified that he took cover behind the building because he feared for his life. When he emerged, Morris said he saw Kim step over Jackson’s lifeless body on the balcony and enter her unit while firing his weapon.
Jackson’s boyfriend, Jaime Stafford, was shot and killed as he tried to flee his residence.
At the time of the murders, a grainy security video from the condo’s parking lot and pool area shows a shadowy figure appearing to move from Kim’s ground-floor unit to the one directly above him occupied by Jackson and Stafford. Jurors craned their necks and squinted to make out the video, which also shows a figure enter Kim’s black Lexus SUV minutes after the murders and drive away from the complex.
Forensic scientist David Walker Spence testified that Kim had significant gun-shot particles on his hands when tested the day of the murders.
“There’s no way of me knowing, based on this testing, if one individual fired a gun or was just in proximity to the gun,” Spence said.
Police recovered a black Glock 45 handgun from Kim’s SUV the day of the murder. It was loaded and placed underneath the driver’s seat. 45-caliber shells and casings were found at the scene of the crime.
Carlata Robinson, the condo’s HOA president, testified about the extent of the animal and baby feces on Kim’s property. She said the amount, location and frequency of the feces made it a health issue.
On January 31, 2013, more poop appeared on Kim’s balcony. This time, instead of being washed down from the balcony, it appeared to be piled up deliberately on Kim’s property.
“This issue has been ongoing for months,” Robinson wrote in an email the same day to the HOA board about Jackson and Stafford’s behavior. “Mr. Kim is about to reach his breaking point.”
Robinson had helped coordinate the couple’s eviction process, which was to begin February 1. Robinson testified that she never told Kim about the pending eviction. Three days later, Jackson and Stafford were dead.
“This is terrible tenant behavior,” Woods said. “It’s not the way neighbors are supposed to act … but is taking a Glock 45 and shooting people in the head a reasonable way to resolve a dispute?” he asked.
“No,” Robinson said.
Testimony continues January 8 in the 291st Criminal Court in Dallas.
The accused, Chung Kim, 76:
The deceased, Michelle Jackson and Jaime Stafford:
If I was on the jury, Mr. Kim would walk. Justifiable homicide.
Not guilty; case dismissed.
Not guilty.
Why couldn’t all these government slugs not stop this filthy couple who were living on the public dime?
At least these government-sponsored cretans won’t be making Baby #6 for taxpayers to support.
Jury nullification candidate.
Kim and his wife owned their first floor condo and had lived there for more than a decade. Jackson was renting her unit through Section 8 housing on a month-to-month lease.
Government knows best. Government provides. Government arrests and tries and imprisons. Government takes away.
All hail government!
If I was the judge and he was found guilty, I'd give him probation.
This man was failed by everyone he tried to take his complaints to. Why this couple wasn't kicked out of their month to month lease, I have no idea. I'm sure that littering your neighbor's property with dirty diapers is a violation of the HOA. Of course, this behavior is so totally uncivilized that it might not even be mentioned in the bylaws.
If I was the judge and he was found guilty, I'd give him probation.
This man was failed by everyone he tried to take his complaints to. Why this couple wasn't kicked out of their month to month lease, I have no idea. I'm sure that littering your neighbor's property with dirty diapers is a violation of the HOA. Of course, this behavior is so totally uncivilized that it might not even be mentioned in the bylaws.
Insanity pronounced cured once the cause was removed.
It makes far, far more sense than most pronouncements by psychologists about sexual deviants.
Its bad to have bad neighbors.
But that’s why people are allowed to MOVE.
Anyone who has ever gone through a really destructive marriage knows the drill. My fault, your fault, nobody’s fault. If you leave, you go through years of legal torment and lose half (or more) of everything you own. But this is still more desirable than killing the one you’re fighting with.
Sounds to me like a case of “The sons a bitches needed killing”.
And let us face it, Chung Kim is a productive member of society. Michelle Jackson and Jaime Stafford were not and now they are no longer a drain on the system.
I can’t say I blame him (Kim).
Only if they get an Asian jury. No AA jury would acquit him.
Come on, you cannot murder two people over a dog poop dispute. The guy most likely killed them both. Not guilty due to temporary insanity, maybe. Eitherway, the victims provoked the man beyond his limit. You can only poke somebody so many times before you push them over the edge.
Sounds like he did the world a favor.
Actually on the surface Kim went too far. If he can show they were indeed directly hostile to him, then no question he would have “self-defense” as a reason. However, in our ninny society, the mere fact that he apparently carried a firearm up to their unit will have everyone assume he had intent.
Regarding the diapers, especially, this matches my cleaning woman’s story about her neighbors. She and neighbors are the same persuasion. Amongst other issues, 1 of her neighbors she found tossing baby diapers into her yard (row house-type homes). She has fought and fought about it, where the woman acts like it’s not her throwing diapers and it must be something else. But she’s the only baby mama in the area and the fencing precludes wind just blowing it over.
The behavior is not shocking, and she has other stories that have her in tears and me laughing my head off!
I can not think of a greater insult to a Korean of the older generation than deliberately dumping one’s sh** on his home.
Perhaps he could argue he was victim of a hate-crime.
Yeah.
i hope Mr. Kim walks... how disgusting... and now they are dead... stupid asses... if someone treated my parents’ that way, i would go after the scumbags myself... how dare they think they can treat others that way...
On second thought, maybe they should have told him.
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