SPANAWAY, Wash. (AP) — A Spanaway convenience store owner has been sentenced to eight years in prison for fatally shooting a man he suspected of shoplifting.
KOMO-TV reports Min Kim told the judge on June 23 he accepted responsibility for his actions that led to the death of 21-year-old Jakeel Mason in March 2016.
Mason was fleeing from the store when Kim shot him in the back.
The shooting came a month after Kim’s wife was shot and wounded during a robbery at the store.
Kim said in court he didn’t have the right to “take Mr. Mason’s life or anyone else’s life” and asked the judge for permission to write a letter of apology to Mason’s family.