Third lawyer wants off Kim case
McMinnville News-Register, OR - 14 minutes ago
... Kim, a former Jehovah's Witness who lived at home with his parents and adult sister before his jailing on multimillion-dollar bail last spring, faces a long ...
Third lawyer wants off Kim case
Published: May 24, 2005
By KATIE WILLSON
Of the News-Register
Prominent Portland defense lawyer Des Connall, representing accused panty thief Sung Koo Kim in a highly publicized set of cases in four counties, announced plans Friday to withdraw.
He said he plans to file motions Wednesday in Yamhill, Washington, Benton and Multnomah counties, citing an undisclosed ethical issue. That would make him the third lawyer to sever ties with Kim, a 31-year-old Tigard resident once suspected in the disappearance of coed Brooke Wilberger.
Yamhill County, where the original case was developed, is scheduled to convene the leadoff trial June 7. Next up would be a set of three-day trials starting July 19 in Washington County and Aug. 29 in Benton County.
If Judge John Collins grants Connall's local withdrawal motion, to be heard next Friday in circuit court, trial in Yamhill County may have to be put off until fall. It would take time for a new lawyer to get up to speed and the prosecutor has witness-availability problems during the summer months.
"Because of very recent activities which have occurred between Mr. Kim and this law firm, as of Wednesday, we would move to withdraw representation in that matter in all four counties," Connall told Collins in a pre-trial conference conducted by telephone last Friday. "I also felt required to notify Mr. Kim ... I have no way of knowing how he will respond."
Kim, a former Jehovah's Witness who lived at home with his parents and adult sister before his jailing on multimillion-dollar bail last spring, faces a long list of counts.
Most of the charges stem from panty thefts from Linfield, George Fox, Oregon State and other colleges, often by someone who broke in while the occupants slept. Kim also faces child pornography charges in his home Washington County, based on some of about 40,000 violent, deviant and sadistic porn images found on his home computer.
Law enforcement also has looked for links between Kim and Wilberger, a Brigham Young University student who disappeared from a Corvallis apartment complex May 29, while visiting her sister. Finding no hard evidence that could place Kim at the scene, and facing intense pressure from Connall, local police eventually announced that they no longer considered Kim a suspect.
When Connall revealed his withdrawal plans Friday, Collins sought a fuller explanation. Connall termed the details of his conflict of interest in the case "extremely delicate," saying he could reveal them only in a sealed affidavit or private appearance in Collins' chambers.
"I have consulted with an ethics lawyer," he said. "I'm extremely cautious about making any statement regarding the conflict that might in some way cause Mr. Kim to lose trial rights."
Deputy District Attorney Alicia Eagan said the timing, on the virtual eve of the lead trial, had her concerned.
She plans to call a long list of students in prosecuting the Yamhill County case, involving 18 counts of first-degree burglary and second-degree theft. And many of those students return to homes in other states when Oregon's private colleges let out for the summer.
"I think if this trial is set over, it needs to be set over until fall," Eagan said, "because my victims aren't from this area. Many have held up their summer plans in order to accommodate the June 7 date."
Connall is the third prominent Portland defense attorney retained by the Kim family since their son's initial arraignment on May 14, 2004.
Michael Greenlick of Borg Strom & Greenlick represented Kim the first month. Then sole practitioner Janet Lee Hoffman took over.
After Hoffman's withdrawal, Kim's family contracted with Connall, who practices with his daughter in the partnership of Des & Shannon Connall LLP. Connall came aboard in September.
Contacted Monday by phone, Kim's mother, Dong, said she had no idea why Connall planned to withdraw. She said it had nothing to do with compensation, as he had agreed to accept a flat fee rather than bill the family at an hourly rate.
Dong Kim said her son's original attorneys either charged too much or gave bad advice. She gave every indication that the family was happy with Connall and disappointed with his decision.
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Original story:
Family asks: Why is son still jailed?
Portland Tribune, OR - 38 minutes ago
... As the Kims see it, their son?s obsessions are rooted in the alienation he suffered as a child growing up as both a Korean and a Jehovah?s Witness in ... Family asks: Why is son still jailed?
Parents of alleged panty thief say he?s sick, not dangerous
Dong Kim was exhausted Saturday morning ? but she still had a traditional Korean lunch to fix as a thank-you for more than a dozen friends and neighbors.
Kim and her husband, Joo, had spent the previous two days in Washington and Multnomah County courtrooms, watching as their son, Sung Koo Kim, appeared at consecutive bail reduction hearings.
Sung Koo Kim ? the so-called panty thief ? is being held on numerous burglary and theft charges for allegedly stealing thousands of pairs of women?s underwear in Benton, Multnomah, Yamhill and Washington counties. Kim, 30, also is charged with possessing child pornography on his home computer in Washington County.
Kim?s attorneys, the father-and-daughter team of Des and Shannon Connall, are trying to get him released on bail before the trials are scheduled. Although Multnomah County Circuit Judge Frank Bearden cut Kim?s bail from $10 million to $800,000 Monday morning, the total amount ? $4.38 million among all four counties ? is still far more than the Kim family can afford.
?That?s moving in the right direction, but it is still too high,? Dong Kim said Monday morning.
But the Connalls won another victory Monday when Bearden said that Kim is no longer a suspect in the disappearance of Brooke Wilberger, the 19-year-old Utah college student who vanished May 24.
Until then, Kim was the only named suspect in the apparent kidnapping. Now he is just one of several people of interest in the baffling case. In his Monday ruling, Bearden noted that Kim?s bail was originally set at $10 million because he was a suspect in the case at the time.
?It is now known that the defendant is not a suspect in the case so that reason has been removed as a consideration for the high security amount,? Bearden wrote.
On Saturday, despite being emotionally drained from the hearings, Kim?s parents wanted to thank the people who gathered at the family?s suburban Tigard home for their support in the months since their son?s arrest. After preparing a large selection of egg rolls, fried shrimp, seasoned beef, sautéed vegetables and steamed rice, Dong Kim changed into a long black dress, joined her husband and spoke to the guests gathered in the family room.
?Sung is not dangerous. He is someone who needs help,? Dong Kim told those in attendance.
As the Kims see it, their son?s obsessions are rooted in the alienation he suffered as a child growing up as both a Korean and a Jehovah?s Witness in predominantly white Tigard and Beaverton. The Kims emigrated from South Korea when Sung was 6 years old because they were worried about increasing military tension with North Korea.
Dong Kim explained that Sung became more withdrawn as he grew older. She knew he spent a lot of time in his room alone but only thought he was unwilling to look for work. She said that her son, who has not been charged with a violent crime, was a gentle person who does not even kill insects.
?He needs help, not punishment,? she said Saturday.
Several of the Kims? guests nodded in agreement as Dong spoke. Steve Young, a Nike manager who lives in the same neighborhood, said many parents can identify with their plight. Gene and Carla Ernster, who live just across the street from the Kims, faulted law enforcement officials for assuming Sung Koo Kim was dangerous.
The Ernsters were especially upset that multiple law enforcement agencies staged an early-morning, SWAT-style raid to arrest Kim on May 29. Gene Ernster said he was awakened around 3 a.m. by an explosion used to blow open the Kims? front door. Although the door has been replaced, the wooden siding on the front porch is still pockmarked by shrapnel.
?I opened my door to see what was happening and a SWAT officer stuck a gun in my face and told me to get back inside. That?s not what this country should be about,? said Ernster, a plumber who served three tours in the Vietnam War.
Last August, the Kims filed notice that they intend to sue the police for using excessive force during the raid.
Bail amounts targeted
During Friday?s hearing, the Connalls argued that prosecutors in all four counties are violating Oregon laws requiring that ?reasonable? bails be set for a criminal suspect. They repeatedly told Multnomah County Circuit Judge Frank Bearden that Sung Koo Kim is only charged with theft and burglary in Multnomah County, charges that usually result in low if any bail amounts.
And, they note, he has no previous criminal record.
The Connalls also suggested the alleged child pornography could have been unintentionally downloaded along with legal images.
The two attorneys made the same argument in Washington County Circuit Court on Thursday. At the end of the hearing, Judge Donald Letourneau reduced the bail from $1.3 million to $480,000. A bail reduction hearing is set for later this month in Yamhill County, where Kim?s bail currently is set at $4 million.
If the Kims still cannot afford to post bail at the end of the hearings, the Connalls can appeal the total amount to the Oregon Supreme Court.
In his ruling, Bearden suggested the Kims might be able to borrow money from the Korean community, noting that his courtroom was filled with their supporters Friday. They included representatives of the Korean Society of Oregon and the Korean American Citizens League, some of whom also attended Saturday?s lunch.
?We do not condone what he may have done, but we believe he should be treated the same as everyone else,? said society president David Kim (no relation) at the end of Friday?s hearing.
Signs of dangerous behavior?
Although Multnomah County prosecutors and Corvallis police now admit they cannot tie Sung Koo Kim to Wilberger?s disappearance, they still argue he is a threat to the community. During Friday?s hearing, Newberg Police Detective Todd Baltzell testified that Kim collected personal information on at least two female Concordia University students whose underwear he stole. Baltzell also testified that Kim had downloaded from the Internet thousands of pictures of bound women being tortured and mutilated. Batzell also testified that Kim?s computer included records of a Google search for countries without extradition treaties with the United States.
Prosecutors will not discuss the details of the case while it is still pending. But Frank Colistro believes he knows why they consider Sung dangerous.
Colistro is a Portland clinical psychologist who has studied hundreds of convicted criminals. Although Colistro has no firsthand knowledge of Kim, he said court records portray him as having many of the same characteristics as violent sex offenders. According to Colistro, most serial sex criminals also are obsessed with pornography and collect ?trophies? of the people they stalk, rape or kill.
?They?re predators. An avid hunter might have a trophy room, and so do these people,? Colistro said.
Examples cited by Colistro include Jerome Brudos, a convicted Salem serial killer who collected women?s high-heeled shoes, and Jeffrey Gorton, convicted of murder in Michigan in 2002 and who was also obsessed with stealing women?s underwear.
In his ruling, Bearden called Sung Koo Kim ?bizarre and unpredictable? and said he posed ?more than the usual danger? to the community, especially the female college students whose underwear he is accused of stealing. |
