Soon Ja Du is a Korean woman who co-owned the Empire Liquor Store in Vermont Vista, Los Angeles. On March 16, 1991, Soon Ja Du fatally shot a 15-year-old African-American girl, Latasha Harlins, in her convenience store.
Following the shooting of Latasha Harlin, Soon Ja Du went on trial. She testified on her own behalf, and she said that she believed that her life was in danger when the shooting occurred. The investigators also found that the handgun had been illegally altered so that it featured a trigger that was more sensitive to being released.
Soon Ja Du was born on Saturday, December 27, 1941 ( age 79 years; as of 2020 ), in North Chungcheong Province, South Korea. Soon Ja Du and her family migrated to Los Angeles in 1976 when she was 35 years old.
Latasha’s life and her legacy are the subject of the 20-minute documentary, A Love Song for Latasha. The film was released on Netflix on Sept. 21, and it tells the story of Latasha’s short life, and the effect that her death has had on her family and her community. Where is Soon Ja Du now?
When did Soon Ja Du go on trial?
On the morning of March 16, 1991, Soon Ja Du was on duty at the store, while her husband was outside. Following the shooting of Latasha Harlin, Soon Ja Du went on trial. She testified on her own behalf, and she said that she believed that her life was in danger when the shooting occurred.
It was unusual for Soon Ja Du, who was originally from Korea, to be behind the counter at the Empire Liquor store. Her husband, Billy Hong Ki Du , or her son generally operated the convenience store on a day-to-day basis. On the morning of March 16, 1991, Soon Ja Du was on duty at the store, while her husband was outside.
On March 16, 1991, at around 10 a.m., Latasha entered the Empire Liquor store to purchase the container of orange juice. 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. Latasha was holding $2 in her hand. Source: Netflix.
Latasha was holding $2 in her hand. Source: Netflix. Article continues below advertisement. According to surveillance video from the store, Du grabbed Latasha by her sweater and she attempted to remove her backpack. After that, Latasha swung at Du. Du eventually fell down, and she then threw a nearby stool at Latasha.
Latasha wanted to become a lawyer, and she also had a goal to own her own business so that she could be free from being watched and followed by merchants for the color of her skin. Ty recounted what Latasha would say about her aspirations. Article continues below advertisement. “‘We could still be lawyers.
Article continues below advertisement. After Du was found guilty, Judge Joyce Karlin sentenced her to time served, 400 hours of community service, a $500 fine, and five years of probation. Though she faced a maximum sentence of 16 years in prison, …
In March of 1991, 15-year-old Latasha Harlins was killed by one of the owners of the Empire Liquor convenience store in Los Angeles, Calif. Latasha had entered the store to buy a container of orange juice for $1.79 when she was fatally shot by Soon Ja Du, who assumed that she was going to steal the drink. Following her passing, there was public …
How old is Soon Ja Du?
Soon Ja Du was born on Saturday, December 27, 1941 ( age 79 years ; as of 2020 ), in North Chungcheong Province, South Korea. Soon Ja Du and her family migrated to Los Angeles in 1976 when she was 35 years old. She graduated from a university in Seoul, South Korea, where she studied literature.
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Career. Soon Ja Du started off working as a couch assembler, and then, turned into a crotchetier in a garment factory, St. John Knits. In 1981, Soon Ja Du and her husband, Billy Heung Ki Du, purchased a convenience store, Empire Liquor Store, in San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles.
Therefore, Du grabbed Harlins by her sweater, accused her of stealing, and snatched her backpack. Harlins reciprocated to this by punching Du twice and knocking her down to the ground. Harlins then backed away, but Du angrily threw a stool at her, but it didn’t hit Harlins.
Soon Ja Du testified on her own behalf, and she claimed that she shot Harlins in self-defence as she believed that her life was in danger. Du’s testimony was contradicted by the two eye-witnesses and the video which was revived from the store security camera. The video exclusively showed that Du shot Harlins when she attempted to leave the store empty-handed. On November 15, 1991, the jury found Du guilty and delivered the verdict stating that Du fired the gun voluntarily. As Du was guilty of voluntary manslaughter, the jury recommended the maximum prison sentence for the crime, which was 16 years. However, Joyce Karlin, the trial judge, did not approve the jury’s recommendation and instead sentenced Du to five years of probation, 400 hours of community service, and a $500 fine. The court stated that the crime was committed under extreme provocation and that Du’s capacity to act rationally in the situation was undermined by her past experiences with the robberies. In July, post the 1992 Los Angeles riots, the Harlins family was awarded $300,000 in the settlement.
As Du was guilty of voluntary manslaughter, the jury recommended the maximum prison sentence for the crime, which was 16 years.
Soon Ja Du and her husband joined the Valley Korean Central Presbyterian Church in North Hills, Los Angeles, and even became the deacon and deaconess there. [1] The Contested Murder of Latasha Harlins.
On Monday, December 15, 1958, Soon Ja Du got married to Billy Heung Ki Du. The couple has three children; two sons, Joseph and Michel, and a daughter, Sandy, who was a theological student at Biola University in 1991.
What did Ja Du say about the shooting?
Soon Ja Du testified on her own behalf, claiming that the shooting was in self-defense and that she believed her life was in danger. But her testimony was contradicted by the statements of the two witnesses present at the time, as well as the store’s security camera video, which showed Du shooting Harlins in the back of the head as the teenager turned away from Du and attempted to leave the store. The Los Angeles Police Department ballistics report also found that the handgun Du used was altered in such a way that it required much less pressure on the trigger to fire than an ordinary handgun.
Soon Ja Du’s store, Empire Liquor, located at the intersection of 91st St. and Figueroa Ave. Vermont Vista, Los Angeles, was normally staffed by Du’s husband and son. However, on the morning of the shooting, Du was working behind the counter, and her husband was outside resting in the family van.
Despite intervention from leaders of both communities, the time after the death of Latasha Harlins was categorized by boy cotts, tense debate, bitterness, Molotov Cocktails, and more convenience store murders. However, while tensions were exponentially increased because of the killing of Harlins, they were built on existing conflict that had been present in the community. Korean immigrant shop-owners have a growing presence in black communities since before the 1970s. Since then, they have been a target of anger from both black shop-owners and black customers, with competing claims from either group that say Korean shop-owners “undercut prices” by the shop-owners and that they over charge by the customers. In 1984, seven years before Latasha Harlins was shot, an editorial was posted in a black community newspaper urging a boycott of Korean stores, saying that any black person who went to their stores was a ‘traitor’. Korean immigrants bought their storefronts in black neighborhoods, specifically South Los Angeles, because the real estate was significantly cheaper than other neighborhoods. The distrust runs possibly even further, because in the same editorial the writer exclaims, “The real question is, why was my brother’s brains blown out fighting for those Koreans?” in reference to the Korean War. Further, the stereotypes of the two groups was a source of contension, with black people often being labeled at economically “dependent” while Koreans and other Asians are often labeled at economically self-sufficient. Tensions only continued to mount during 1991, where injustices against black Americans, and the release of the police officers who beat Rodney King were released. These events all culminated in deadly and destructive riots beginning on April 29, 1992 and continuing through May 4, 1992. Many of the targets of looting and destruction were Korean stores, with more than two-thousand Korean stores being burned or looted. Though these ethnic tensions have not resulted in wide-scale violence since 1992, the relationship between Koreans and the black community remains strained.
Los Angeles Riots in 1992. Latasha Harlin’s murder was one of many events in Los Angeles that lead to the riots in 1992. While the event itself was a tragedy, another tragedy that came from the event, in the eyes of many in the black community, was that Soon Ja Du did not receive any jail time for her blatant crime.
Two eyewitnesses—9-year-old Ismail Ali and his 13-year-old sister Lakeshia Combs—disputed that claim, saying that Du called Harlins a “bitch” and accused her of trying to steal, to which they claimed Harlins replied that she intended to pay for the orange juice.
However, the trial judge, Joyce Karlin, sentenced Du to five years of probation, 10 years of suspended prison, 400 hours of community service, and a $500 fine.
The Los Angeles mayor’s office estimated that 65 percent of all businesses vandalized during the riots were Korean-owned. On August 17, 1991, while Du was awaiting trial, a small fire occurred at her store.
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