Murder charges for suspects in cab killing

Sue Doyle

NEWPORT BEACH -- The district attorney filed murder charges Friday

against two taxi drivers accused of fatally shooting their friend as he

sat inside a cab near the Newport Pier.

The men, suspected in the shooting death of In Hyang Baek, 55, of

Westminster, now face the consequences for what police believe was

originally a plan for all three men to die.

Neither entered a plea during their arraignment Friday in Harbor Justice

Center. Court-appointed attorneys for both men continued the arraignment

until May 19.

A translator relayed the words of Superior Court Judge Craig E. Robison

through a small opening in the plexiglass cage that separated suspects

Chae Jung Han, 53, of Garden Grove, and David Keum Yung Ji, 53, of

Anaheim, from the courtroom.

Both men stood expressionless in blue cotton garb and kept their eyes on

the Korean-speaking translator. No family members for either man attended

the hearing.Baek’s death occurred Wednesday evening after he and the two

suspects reportedly drove around Orange County drinking, said Sgt. Mike

McDermott.

The men, who police say were depressed over financial problems, at first

had a gun without bullets, but later stopped to purchase some, McDermott

said.

That conscious action reflects that the men were taking steps toward

suicide, he said.

Although authorities believe the three had engaged in a suicide pact,

both men were charged with murder because they conspired for someone to

die, McDermott said.

“Someone did die,” McDermott said. “So that makes them guilty for the

death.”

Baek died after receiving a gunshot wound to the head from point-blank

range around 7 p.m. Wednesday, police said.

The other two men exited the cab and struggled over the gun before

fleeing from the scene around West Coast Drive and 24th Street. Both were

arrested on suspicion of murder only a few minutes later.

Bail for Ji and Han was set at $250,000. Both men are being held in

Orange County Jail.