CYPRESS — A gang member serving life in prison without the possibility of parole for shooting five people in a Cypress cafe, killing one of them, died following a fight with a fellow inmate at a medical facility in Solano County, state corrections officials said Tuesday.
Stephenson Choi Kim of San Gabriel was convicted of first-degree murder in March 2011 for the March 13, 2004, shooting spree at the 5th Wave Cafe that killed 21-year-old Venus Hyun and injured four others. Kim initially faced the death penalty, but jurors deadlocked 7-5 against recommending that Kim be executed.
Kim was 31 when he was sentenced in 2012, and 45 when he died on Monday.
According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Kim and fellow inmate Joe Duty Jr., 30, got into a fight around 7:20 p.m. Jan. 4 in a housing unit at California Medical Facility in Vacaville. Kim was found unconscious and taken to a hospital, where he remained until he was pronounced dead at 6:30 p.m. Monday.
It was unclear what precipitated the fight. Duty — who was sentenced in San Joaquin County last year to 14 years in prison for forcible rape and other charges — was placed in restrictive housing, with an investigation continuing by state officials and the Solano County District Attorney’s Office.
Orange County prosecutors said Kim opened fire at the 5th Wave Cafe because he thought one of the victims had ties to a rival gang that had beaten him up. A half-dozen other defendants in the case made deals with the prosecution to testify against Kim.