Posted on 03/16/2003 10:00:47 PM PST by What Is Ain't
Suspect freed in return for info against store owner
The public isn't going to stand for a cop deal cut with a suspected burglar to help charge a store owner with firearm offences, says another shopkeeper.
Police have decided not to pursue charges against a suspect in an alleged break-in at a south-side audio store in return for information against the store owner suspected of shooting the man.
The deal will spark a public outcry, said storekeeper Kim Chan, who is friends with the audio store owner and who won notoriety in 1996 for wounding a man with a shotgun who was trying to rob his pawnshop.
"There should be no deals. Why do they want to nail the owner instead of the robber? It's not fair," Chan said.
On March 9, would-be thieves rammed a stolen Chevy Blazer tail-first through the front of Audio 5.1. Two culprits were trying to pry a plasma TV from a wall at the 103 Street and 63 Avenue store, said police, when shots were fired inside the building.
About 25 minutes after the incident, a man was taken to hospital with a gunshot wound.
"Following the incident, police located a man suffering from a gunshot wound but, based on his story, were unable to determine whether his injury and the break-in (were connected)," said Edmonton police spokesman Annette Bidniak. "In order to gain a concrete lead in the case, a decision was made at the command level not to charge (the man) with the break-in."
Crime-scene evidence has revealed a second gun - a .22-calibre long-barrelled rifle - was used in the store shooting in which the owner allegedly fired at the bandits. That made the investigation more complicated, Bidniak said.
Police are no more motivated to charge one person involved in the case than another, said a police source.
"We had to cut to the chase and find out what happened. There was a deal offered to get information we might otherwise not get," the source said.
Shand King, 45, owner of Audio 5.1, has been charged with causing bodily harm with intent, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm knowing the firearm is "unauthorized," and using a firearm during the commission of an offence. He is to appear in court April 9.
Charged with public mischief (filing a false police report) and possession of stolen property under $5,000 (a stolen truck) is 28-year-old Michael Herbert Hamilton. He was issued a promise to appear in court April 19.
The investigation continues.
Even in Kali this would be a justified shooting.
Mr. Chan should fight these racist bastards--they're just more hate-filled left-wingers who want to destroy successful Asian businessmen, not much different from Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson. To them, yellow isn't a "color."
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