Killed Suspect at Doorway, Man, 81, Given $100 Fine

An 81-year-old man who killed a would-be robber in a Beverly Hills apartment building on New Year’s Eve was fined $100 today for illegal possession of the weapon he used.

Beverly Hills Municipal Court Commissioner John Murphy levied the fine on Thomas Clarence Korshak who, through his attorney, pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of carrying a concealed weapon.

Murphy also ordered the weapon--a .38-caliber revolver--destroyed.

Korshak, a retired jewelry merchant who is reportedly in frail health, was also placed on probation for a year and ordered not to obtain a replacement gun.

Korshak, who lives in the mid-Wilshire district, told police that a man--later identified as Alan Jerome Paige, 26--accosted him and his wife as they entered the vestibule of an apartment building at 137 S. Maple Drive and demanded money and jewelry. Korshak told police that the would-be robber became irritated when Korshak failed to respond quickly and advanced on him with one hand thrust into his jacket pocket, pointing as if he had a gun. Korshak then pulled his own weapon and fired twice. Paige staggered outside and collapsed near his car.

Police found a knife in the car, but no weapon on Paige.

However, they agreed with the district attorney’s office that Korshak had fired in self-defense, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Kenneth Wullschleger. As a result, only misdemeanor charges were filed.

Korshak, who did not appear in court, had a statement read by his attorney, in which he thanked authorities for the manner in which they treated him, said he felt very badly about having killed a man and urged others not to interpret his actions as encouragement to break the law, Wullschleger said.