San Francisco Store Manager Faces Up To A Year For Assaulting Shoplifter

A former Walgreens official based in San Francisco faces up to a year in prison and a fine of $ 10,000 after being sentenced this week for having attacked a thief with the alleged display.

The context

The former manager, Guang Hong, 46, worked at Walgreens when he attacked the alleged display thief on March 19.

Hong is no longer an employee of Walgreens and has not been “for months”, a source close to the case has been told Nowsweek.

What to know

A jury condemned Hong of assaults with force likely to produce great bodily injuries this week, announced the prosecutor of the district of San Francisco, Brooke Jenkins.

The assault is an offense “Wobbler” in California, which means that prosecutors can choose to make it pay as a crime or offense. Hong was found guilty of an offense, the DA office confirmed Nowsweek.

According to the California penal code, any person found guilty of assault as a crime “will be punished with a prison sentence in the state prison of two, three or four years” and those recognized as guilty of assault for offense can be sentenced to “the county prison so as not to exceed a year, or by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($ 10,000), or by fine”.

The alleged display thief, Larry Whitlock, 30, entered the Walgreens where Hong worked before 5 am on March 19 and took a bottle of shampoo, prosecutors said in court documents.

They said that while Whitlock left the store, “the security guard alerted Mr. Hong, the director of Walgreens, from theft.”

Hong recovered the Whitlock’s bottle of shampoo after a confrontation and Whitlock then left the store.

“After about a minute, Hong noticed that the victim was still outside the store,” Jenkins’ office said in his statement announcing the condemnation of Hong. “He confronted the victim again, shouting and pointing his keys.”

He “then charged the victim and struck him in the face with a protruding key to his joints. Mr. Hong then struck the victim twice more with his keys in hand and kicked the victim when he fell to the ground.”

What people say

Jenkins said in a statement after Hong’s conviction: “I would like to thank the jury for their service in this trial. Although I understand the frustration and anger of the community, violence is unacceptable and only makes matters. My office takes all the crime seriously and works in partnership with the police to ensure that those who indulge in criminal behavior are held responsible and are confronted with consequences for the security of the public and criminal and the rule. “

Deputy Prosecutor of District Max Draskovich said: “Theft in store is an important question, but it does not justify an assault that goes beyond self-defense. Mr. Hong’s response went far beyond self-defense, and we are grateful that the jury did not keep him responsible.

Hong lawyer, deputy public defender Megan Votaw, said in a statement: “Mr. Hong was a longtime and extremely worker employee of Walgreens who worked a quarter of the cemetery in the night in question, and he fought in self -defense after trying to recover stolen objects from the alleged victim.

“During the interactions that Mr. Hong and the alleged victim had that night, the alleged victim threw a bottle on Mr. Hong, launched offensive insults several times – which Mr. Hong interpreted as threats – and came to him with a combat posture. Mr. Hong did not hold his keys between his fingers when he struck the alleged victim.”

What happens next

Hong should be sentenced on August 15. Whitlock also faces charges of small flight and battery.