Man Won’t Be Charged in Killing

A man who shot and killed an attacker who was beating two of the man’s friends with a steel weight-lifting bar will not be charged with any crime, Alameda County authorities said Friday.

Assistant Dist. Atty. Albert (Bud) Meloling said Cambodian immigrant Bang Khlaut was justified in shooting Paul Lee West, 23, early Wednesday, and noted that Khlaut first fired two warning shots in an effort to scare off West.

“West was in the process of beating an individual to death,” Meloling said.

Khlaut, 40, had come to the aid of Hul Kong, 44, and Kong’s son, Kena, 16, who lived in a cottage behind Khlaut’s apartment. The Kongs had gone out at about 3 a.m. Wednesday in search of their dog when they were confronted by West and some of his friends who had been drinking nearby. The Kongs tried to retreat to their home, but West and others pursued them, awakening Khlaut.

Later in the day, Khlaut and the Kongs moved from their homes at the southern tip of Oakland, two blocks from where a man shot and killed six people, including two children, while they slept last December.

One of the men with West, Kendell Jenkins, 23, was charged with assault with a deadly weapon for his part in beating the father and son. The Kongs were taken to a hospital after the attack for treatment.