Jessup deli owner Kwang Jun Kim was walking into his store Oct. 8, 2003, carrying a bank bag filled with $125,000, when police say he was grabbed by two men.
As the men tried to restrain Kim and take the moneybag, one man pointed a handgun at him. Kim fought back and was fatally shot in the head during the struggle, police said.
Today, a trial is scheduled to begin for Walter J. Blannon, one of the two men charged in Kim's death. Blannon, 39, of the 1600 block of N. Calvert St., Baltimore, faces first-degree murder and related charges.
The Howard County Circuit Court case is expected to last four to five days, with jury selection beginning this morning, said T. Wayne Kirwan, a spokesman for the county state's attorney's office.
Reginald Venable Jr., 47, of the 800 block of E. 33rd St., Baltimore, is also charged with first-degree murder and related charges and is scheduled for trial Feb. 15.
Prosecutors have previously announced that they plan to seek sentences of life without the possibility of parole for both men if convicted.
Kim, 53, of Ellicott City, came to the United States from South Korea in 1991 and was a Presbyterian deacon. His business, the Jessup Plaza Deli & Convenience, sold sandwiches and sundries, and offered check-cashing services in the strip mall in the 7800 block of Washington Blvd.
Kim was returning from a BB&T branch in Elkridge about 11:15 a.m. when he was shot.
After the shooting, police pursued two suspects across Howard and Baltimore counties before the chase ended in West Baltimore.
After a witness gave Howard County police a license plate number and a description of a gold-colored Chevrolet Malibu, an officer spotted the car heading east on U.S. 40 near Patapsco State Park.
The officer attempted a traffic stop, but the driver, who police identified as Blannon, refused to stop and continued into Baltimore County, police said.
Baltimore County police joined the chase and followed the car into Baltimore, where it turned onto South Athol Avenue and crashed at a nursing home, police said.
A Baltimore County police car then rammed the rear of the Chevrolet. The passenger, whom police identified as Venable, got out of the vehicle and pointed a gun at a Baltimore County officer who was in another cruiser, city police said.
The officer fired several shots and wounded the suspect.
Police found two handguns in the car and a bag containing cash and bank deposit slips with the deli's name.
