Grocer’s Murder Trial to Be Held Downtown
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The racially charged murder trial of a Korean grocer accused of shooting a black customer will be held in downtown Los Angeles, a Compton judge ruled on Monday.
Superior Court Judge Lois Anderson-Smaltz, who earlier this month caused controversy with a finding that jurors and witnesses might be “intimidated” in the mostly black community of Compton, named the new site without further comment. But earlier in the proceedings against grocer Soon Ja Du, who is accused of shooting 15-year-old Latasha Harlins, defense lawyers argued that the heckling by spectators might bias jurors.
Du is charged with shooting Harlins after accusing her of trying to shoplift a bottle of orange juice from Du’s South-Central liquor store. Prosecutors say Harlins was trying to pay for the juice when the dispute erupted, but Du’s attorney says the grocer had been attacked by Harlins.
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