Defense Says Ip Didn’t Mean to Shoot Teen-Ager After Traffic Confrontation

Roger Sing Ip had no intention of shooting anyone when he followed three teen-agers to a Pacific Beach neighborhood after a minor traffic altercation and only wanted to talk to them about the disrespect they had shown him during the incident, a defense attorney said Thursday.

Instead, the intended dialogue took a tragic turn, and Ip accidently shot Kurt Von Yokes, 15, when he attempted to leave the area and his vehicle suddenly lurched forward, causing a gun he was carrying in his right hand to discharge, said attorney William R. Fletcher.

In his closing argument, prosecutor Gregg McClain said “all the (teens) were doing was being teen-agers.”

“Roger Ip set the stage, and he directed the play,” McClain said. “ . . . Yes, this is real life . . . and that means the curtain won’t rise for Kurt Yokes.”

Yokes, 15, and a student at La Jolla High School, died from a single gunshot wound to the chest on June 29, 1989.

Both the prosecution and defense presented their closing arguments Thursday, and the jury began deliberating. Deputy Dist. Atty. McClain argued that Ip should be convicted of first-degree murder. Fletcher argued for acquittal but suggested that, if Ip is found guilty, it should be of involuntary manslaughter.

In his closing argument, Fletcher blamed Debbie Lichty, 19, and Michael Endsley, 20, for instigating the incident that led to the shooting.

Endsley and Yokes were riding in a car driven by Lichty about midnight when it nearly collided with an Isuzu Trooper driven by Ip. Ip, 33, formerly a part-owner of the China Inn restaurant in Pacific Beach, was going home with the night’s receipts and a handgun to protect himself against robbery.

Ip admitted making a U-turn and followed the teen-agers to where the shooting occurred. He said he panicked when 6-foot-4, 240-pound Endsley approached him. Ip said he was afraid Endsley was going to steal the restaurant’s receipts.

He testified that he took the bank deposit bag and handgun in his right hand, and, with the same hand attempted to put his vehicle into gear. In doing so, the Trooper stalled, causing the vehicle to lurch forward and the gun to go off accidently, Ip testified.

Only one shot was fired, and Yokes, who had also gotten out of Lichty’s vehicle and was standing nearby, was mortally wounded.

Fletcher suggested that the shooting would not have occurred had Lichty not made a series of obscene gestures at Ip and if Endsley had not directed racial remarks at Ip. Lichty and Endsley testified that Ip was driving erratically that night.

“They may feel very guilty that their conduct contributed . . . to this,” Fletcher said. “ . . . The worse they can make Mr. Ip look, the better it can make them feel.”

Fletcher said that Ip followed the teen-agers “because he was offended and had a responsibility to talk to these people.”

“Is it so unreasonable that Ip would want to talk to these people and tell them that what they did was wrong?” Fletcher asked.

Fletcher argued that Ip did not have a motive to kill Yokes and told jurors that the prosecution failed to show one.

“What was Ip’s motive to kill Kurt Yokes? None. The absence of a motive establishes innocence . . . . The absence of a motive has to be considered by you,” Fletcher said.

The defense attorney also told jurors that Ip “has been non-violent all his life.”

“Isn’t it reasonable that he was non-violent on this occasion?” Fletcher said.

McClain reminded jurors that Ip had an opportunity to avoid the deadly confrontation but instead chose to turn around and follow the three youths home.

“Common sense reaction will tell you that Ip got angry because Lichty flipped him off. . . . Not only did he get flipped off, he was flipped off by a girl. That was more than he could stand,” McClain said.

The prosecutor also scoffed at Fletcher’s explanation that Ip followed the teen-agers home simply because he wanted to talk to them about the disrespect they had shown him.

“Is it reasonable for him to want to stop these kids at 12 o’clock at night to talk about how they disrespected him? It’s a possibility, but it’s just not reasonable,” McClain argued.