The younger brother of a former suspect who has been cleared of involvement in a Pacific Beach shooting will stand trial on Sept. 25 for attempted murder.
Aaron Sung-Uk Park, 23, pleaded not guilty July 18 to the charge of trying to kill Eric Joseph, who was shot three times in the legs and hip in the 4500 block of Mission Boulevard on Sept. 17, 2007.
The shooting followed a fight in a parking lot in which a friend of Joseph’s tried to stop near a taco shop. The gunman tried to shoot Joseph’s friend, but Joseph stepped in front of him and was wounded, according to court records.
Park is the younger brother of David Park, 25, who was initially charged with the crime, but his lawyer, William Nimmo, helped persuade the District Attorney’s Office to drop all charges on Jan. 7 because they had the wrong man.
David Park was called to testify during his brother’s two-day preliminary hearing in June but cited his Fifth Amendment right not to testify because of possible self-incrimination. Nimmo was at his side again.
“It’s a matter of not wanting to testify because it’s his brother,” said Deputy District Attorney Makenzie Harvey, adding there was no Fifth Amendment reason to not testify.
“He’s afraid now of him being accused again,” replied Nimmo.
Harvey asked David Park where he lived, but he declined to answer. She asked him about the whereabouts of his brother that night, but Park replied, “I wish to use my Fifth Amendment right.”
Visiting Superior Court Judge Bradford Andrews did not order him to reply, and David Park was excused.
Kathy Chong initially refused to testify and asked to speak to an attorney. After being counseled by an attorney, she still cited her Fifth Amendment right.
“She has information necessary to the prosecution. It sounds like an unwillingness to testify,” Harvey said.
Andrews ordered Chong to answer Harvey’s question about where she was that night. “We did what everyone does ” drink,” replied Chong, citing the name of a Pacific Beach bar.
“There was a fight. Someone grabbed one of my tacos. Everyone got involved,” she said.
Chong cited her Fifth Amendment right when asked about Aaron Park, but the judge told her to answer.
She identified him but said, “I don’t know him personally. I know he’s my roommate’s brother. He’s not a friend of mine.”
When asked if Aaron Park called her on her cell phone that night, Chong said she couldn’t remember. She also said she didn’t recall if she had lunch with Aaron Park the next day.
David Chong cited his Fifth Amendment right not to testify, telling Andrews that a detective told him he might be charged with a crime. Andrews said there may be a Fifth Amendment right for David Chong not to answer, and he excused him.
H. Brent Bartel testified he was with Joseph that night and saw someone getting beaten up. Bartel said he intervened and identified Aaron Park as one man trying to kick someone on the ground. He said he saw someone who “resembles” Aaron Park pull a gun.
“He was kinda waving it around, saying ‘What’s up now, bitches? Who’s the man now?'” Bartel quoted the gunman as saying.
Bartel testified the gunman wore a black glove.
“The gun got pointed at me. I heard threatening comments from the guy with the gun,” Bartel said.
“Eric tried to grab the gun. He was really close to getting the gun,” said Bartel about the victim, Eric Joseph.
Bartel told the judge he heard five to eight gunshots, and both of them tried to dodge the bullets. Joseph fell to the ground, wounded.
“When he hit the ground, the shooter stopped shooting,” he said.
Marty Palermo testified he saw Joseph and Bartel try to stop a fight. He said someone pointed a gun at Joseph and fired. He said he saw the gunman run away.
When asked if he could identify the gunman, Palermo looked at Aaron Park and said, “That guy right there looks like the shooter. I’m not 100 person positive. He looks real familiar. He looks like the person.”
Aaron Park’s attorney, Casey Donovan, urged the judge to dismiss the case, citing insufficient evidence. He said there was no compelling evidence as to the identity of Park as the gunman.
“There was no statement of any evidence to kill. The gun was pointed downward,” Donovan said.
Andrews said there was enough evidence to charge Park with attempted murder. He remains in the Vista Detention Facility on $500,000 bail.