A fugitive was wanted for 2 killings in California. After 8 years on the run, he was found in Laos
-
Click here to listen to this article - Share via
See more from the L.A. Times in Google Search. Set us as preferred
- A fugitive wanted in two killings in California was found in Laos after eight years on the run, authorities said.
An eight-year manhunt for a suspect in two California killings came to an end this week after a South Korean national was detained abroad and returned to the United States to face murder charges.
Myung Jin Kim, 31, was wanted in connection with two killings: a botched murder-for-hire plot in San José in 2016 and the killing of Kim’s friend in the parking lot of a CVS in Westminster two years later.
Prosecutors filed an arrest warrant for Kim in November 2018, but he is believed to have fled and eluded authorities for eight years.
“Mr. Kim’s cowardly acts of violence finally caught up with him, despite being halfway across the globe,” Patrick Grandy, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, said in a statement.
Kim is believed to have hired a hitman for the ambush and killing of a man in San José on June 27, 2016.
Police say the victim was shot in his car after stopping by a residential neighborhood. But the investigation by San José police determined the hitman had killed the wrong person.
It is his fourth known attempt to flee China. Appearing at the court hearing, he told reporters that he hopes to go to Canada via South Korea to reunite with his wife and daughters, who already resettled there.
For years, however, no arrest warrant was issued for Kim.
Then on Sept. 5, 2018, Kim was suspected of shooting and killing his friend, 26-year-old Christopher Kim, in the parking lot of a CVS in Westminster after the two argued over money.
Authorities allege Kim shot his friend six times in front of his girlfriend and then fled on foot.
On Nov. 20, 2018, police in Orange County issued an arrest warrant for Kim.
San José police continued their investigation into the 2016 killing as well and, on Feb. 3, 2020, an arrest warrant was issued for Kim for allegations of murder, attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the botched murder-for-hire plot.
Kim eluded law enforcement for years until December 2025, when, according to a statement by the Orange County district attorney’s office, Westminster Police Department, FBI, San José police and Santa Clara County district attorney’s office, he was found living in Laos. Kim was taken into custody for alleged immigration violations, including using fraudulent travel documents.
Officials in Orange and Santa Clara counties officials worked with the FBI and U.S. marshals to locate and bring Kim back to the U.S. to face felony charges.
Kim was booked into the Anaheim Police Department jail Tuesday, and was transported to Santa Clara County on Wednesday.
Federal officials said Kim was the first person detained and returned to the United States from Laos.
More From the Los Angeles Times
Podcasts
In this episode, we bring you the update on how an Altadena resident and her neighborhood are coming along, plus a re-run of the two-part series we did on the Poppyfields people back in June.
The Hillside Strangler murders terrorized Los Angeles in the late 1970s. The killers were a pair of sadistic cousins. One confessed. The other was set to stand trial—until L.A. prosecutors flinched.
Hosts Fidel Martínez and Suzy Exposito sit down with Lorely Rodriguez –aka Empress Of– indie pop singer, songwriter, and producer, for a conversation about identity, resilience, and her new album Dream House, made while simultaneously rebuilding an actual house in Altadena alongside her mom.
