Bail Sought for Teen Accused in Slaying of Honor Student Tay

SANTA ANA —  A lawyer for one of the four teen-agers accused in the New Year’s Eve slaying of honor student Stuart A. Tay said Saturday that his client is not a threat to the public and should be released on bail.

Allan H. Stokke, who is representing 17-year-old defendant Kirn Young Kim, argued for Kim’s release during a hearing before Orange County Judge Kathleen O’Leary on Friday. A decision from the judge is expected Thursday.

“He’s certainly going nowhere,” Stokke said of his client, who is being held without bail at the Orange County Juvenile Hall. “He’s immature and would need and want to be with his parents. (Kim) has an extreme amount of respect for authority that is part of the Korean community. It is that respect that will cause him to return to court.”

Stokke said the court has been presented with petitions that have more than 18,000 signatures supporting his client.

“That is certainly an unusual number of people to come to the support of someone charged with this type of crime,” Stokke said.

Stokke said he has also presented the court with more than 80 letters of support for his client written by teachers, counselors, family members and friends.

Kim is one of four teen-agers accused in the killing of Tay, a student at Foothill High School.

Kim, Abraham Acosta, 16, Robert Chien-nan Chan, 18, and Mun Bong Kang, 17, face charges of first-degree murder with the special circumstance of lying in wait. They have pleaded not guilty.

All are being tried as adults and Chan, who has been identified by the others as the mastermind of the plot, is the only one eligible for the death penalty because of his age.

A fifth suspect, Charles Bae Choe, 17, pleaded guilty in February to first-degree murder in Juvenile Court and promised to testify against the others.

Last month, Kim’s aunt unsuccessfully pleaded with a judge to let her nephew remain in the juvenile justice system because sentences are shorter.