Neighborhood Mourns Slain Store Owner

Two people carrying guns and wearing masks barged into a liquor store near the Beverly Center on Saturday, killing the owner with a gunshot to his face, surveillance footage released by police showed.

The armed robbery took place about 8:45 a.m. at the St. Regis Liquor store at 3rd Street and Orlando Avenue.

Police said the robbers, who were dressed in black, demanded money before killing Jae Yang, 59, of Oxnard, who had been standing behind the counter helping a customer.

In the video, released Sunday, the customer appeared to run away as the robbery unfolded. The robbers fled in a white four-door Chevrolet Malibu with tinted rear windows, authorities said.

On Sunday, friends and customers in the upscale neighborhood remembered Yang as a quiet man who sold bottled mochas, cigarettes and lottery tickets with a pleasant smile. Yang, a Korean immigrant and father of three, had owned the shop for about 20 years, said Ricky Logan, a longtime customer who also became a family friend.

Neighbors in the upscale community said Yang gave kids free gum and candy. He let customers run a tab if they were short on cash.

It is a “huge loss for this community,” said Logan, who was driving nearby Saturday morning when he saw a rush of activity at the store.

He went inside, only to find Yang’s body on the floor behind the register.

Logan had known Yang for 15 years. He was a hardworking man who was living “the American dream,” Logan said.

Yang had been robbed before, Logan said, but he knew to hand over money to avoid trouble.

Harry Leibel, who lives in the neighborhood, bought his usual bottled mocha from Yang on Saturday morning, minutes before the robbery.

Yang was cheerful and had asked whether Leibel’s son wanted to work in the shop on weekends. Five minutes after Leibel left, a neighbor called him and said somebody had been shot on the corner.

“They took a decent human being from this world and left us all with a great big vacancy and emptiness,” Leibel said. “It will never be the same on this corner.”

He chuckled when he recalled a story about when Yang’s wife, an acupuncturist, stuck pins into her husband’s aching legs while he was working behind the cash register.

On Sunday, Leibel’s 10-year-old daughter, Chaya-Anna, studied the flowers and notes that had been left in front of the shop. She said Yang used to give her candy or chips when she didn’t have money.

“I was crying,” she said. “He was so nice. He was always so happy.”

Carnations, poinsettias, tall candles and a teddy bear decorated the storefront.

One person posted a typed letter on the window that read: “His kindness saved my life by allowing me food when I had been without for several days.”

On the glass door, neighbors posted more goodbye notes: “You were a VITAL member of our family and we will miss you terribly.”

Jacob Melchi, who works at a design store on the block, brought a drawing of Yang sketched by a co-worker.

The rendering showed Yang with a creased forehead, choppy hair and a peaceful expression.

Melchi posted it on the door near the neon “Open” sign that had been turned off.