Photo courtesy of KTVU
by Hatt-Me Kim
Just one month after a Oakland robbery-related heart attack incident, another elderly San Francisco Bay Area shopkeeper is dead due to similarly traumatic circumstances.
Ho Kim, 70, the longtime owner of Travis Dairy store, died from cardiac arrest after three teenage boys allegedly knocked him to the ground and pepper-sprayed him before running off with his cash register, video recorder and other stolen goods.
After announcing last Thursday that as a result of their detectives’ aggressive investigation in the case, police in Fairfield, Calif. — a city 38 miles from San Francisco — have arrested and charged five suspects with robbery and homicide, according to local broadcast station KTVU.
17-year-olds Dazmon Frazier, Osis Smith, and James Young, Chelsea Johnson, 18, and a 15-year-old juvenile appeared in Solano County Superior Court on Friday.
Kim was able to call 911 and explain to the arriving officers what happened before being taken to NorthBay Medical Center, where he suffered what Solano County coroner Ray Lamb called “a cardiac arrhythmia due to an emotional distress caused by an assault.”
Affectionately known as “Papa” to area residents, Kim’s senseless passing greatly impacted the community, and the police stated that, “community participation in solving the case resulted in the arrest of all those responsible for the crime.”
Last month, Oakland shopkeeper Dong Suk Kang suffered a fatal heart attack after a physically violent struggle with a 14-year-old alleged shoplifter.
Kang attempted to pursue the juvenile in his car but only made it a few blocks before having what police call a heart attack triggered by anxiety due to the confrontation.
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