Alibi Frees Man Linked ‘Beyond Doubt’ to Slaying

One of three men who Los Angeles police said last week were linked “beyond a shadow of a doubt” to the slaying of a Korean-American grocer in Van Nuys was released from jail this week after investigators found he had an alibi--he was at work and his Korean-American employers vouched for him.

Jehu Adelso Miranda, 40, of Los Angeles was released Monday night. Police arrested him Friday and said he was the getaway driver in the May 4 slaying of Lee Chul Kim during an attempted robbery.

“He had a dead-bang alibi--he was at work,” Detective John Edwards said Tuesday.

However, police said Miranda remains under investigation for possible links to a large ring of mostly Salvadoran nationals that investigators believe is responsible for dozens of market robberies from Santa Ana to Pacoima.

Police said the other two men they identified as suspects in the Kim killing are still linked to the grocer’s death through physical evidence, which they would not disclose. Police said they expect to seek murder charges against them later this month. Both are already charged in the slaying of a police officer during a robbery in Maywood last month.

At a packed news conference Friday, police announced that they had linked Miranda, Jose Luis Solorsano, 20, and Carlos Juarez, 22, to the Kim killing. The victim owned a small market and check-cashing business on Woodley Avenue and was shot during a struggle after returning from a bank with $15,000 in cash. Police said Solorsano shot him.

Police said that the number of robbers, their Salvadoran accents and method of robbery led investigators to link the killing to a long series of similar robberies in the last year. Solorsano and Juarez were linked to the Kim case after they were arrested in the May 29 slaying of Maywood Officer John A. Hoglund--who was gunned down while responding to a market robbery. Juarez is accused of being the gunman in that case.

With Solorsano and Juarez already in custody, police arrested Miranda, their roommate, on Friday morning.

At the news conference that followed, police declined to discuss what evidence they had tying the three men to the Kim case but Deputy Police Chief Mark A. Kroeker said, “Beyond a shadow of a doubt, we have the right suspects.”

On Tuesday, Edwards said Miranda had been arrested largely on the basis that he was living with Solorsano and Juarez and bears a strong resemblance to a composite drawing of one of the robbers that was made with the help of witnesses. He also is of similar height, weight and age as one of the robbers, police said.

“He lived at the same address--in the same room,” Edwards said. “The composite looks like him.”

However, witnesses who later looked at a photo lineup could not positively identify Miranda as the getaway driver and investigators subsequently confirmed his alibi, Deputy Dist. Atty. James Baker said.

Investigators learned that employee time records showed Miranda was working at a downtown garment factory on the morning Kim was shot. Edwards said his alibi was bolstered beyond doubt when his Korean-American employers verified that he was at work while knowing that he was a suspect in the slaying.

Because Miranda was arrested in the Kim case, authorities had until Tuesday morning to file charges. After conferring with Baker on Monday, detectives released Miranda when he paid outstanding fines on two misdemeanor traffic infractions.