A South Korean man, wanted for two murders in the U.S., has been apprehended in Laos after evading authorities for eight years and extradited to the U.S.
The Los Angeles Times reported on June 12 that Kim, a 31-year-old South Korean national, arrived at Los Angeles International Airport on June 9 and was subsequently transferred to Santa Clara County.
Kim is accused of hiring a hitman to ambush and kill a man in San Jose, California, on June 27, 2016.
The victim was fatally shot after parking his car in a residential area. San Jose police investigations revealed that the hitman had mistakenly killed the wrong person.
Surprisingly, no arrest warrant was issued for Kim regarding this charge for several years.
On September 5, 2018, Kim allegedly killed his friend, also surnamed Kim, 26, in a CVS parking lot in Westminster, Orange County, following a financial dispute.
At the time, Kim was out on bail after being charged with drug trafficking, illegal firearm possession as a felon, and possession of hollow-point ammunition. He reportedly shot the victim six times in front of the victim’s girlfriend. An arrest warrant for Kim was subsequently issued on November 20 of the same year.
The San Jose police continued their investigation into the 2016 murder case and issued an arrest warrant for Kim on February 3, 2020, for conspiracy to commit murder.
Kim successfully evaded authorities for several years until he was located in Laos last December. He was arrested there at the end of last month for violating immigration laws by using forged travel documents.
The judicial authorities of Orange County and Santa Clara County worked in collaboration with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to secure Kim’s return from Laos. It’s worth noting that the U.S. and Laos do not have an extradition treaty. Federal authorities confirmed that Kim is the first individual to be extradited to the U.S. after being arrested in Laos.
Patrick Grandi, deputy chief of the FBI’s Los Angeles office, stated that despite being on the other side of the globe, Kim’s heinous acts of violence ultimately led to his capture.