People v. Kim CA4/3

Filed 6/28/16 P. v. Kim CA4/3

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). The opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

THE PEOPLE,

Plaintiff and Respondent, G050928

v. (Super. Ct. No. 12NF0672)

MYUNG JAE KIM, OPINION

Defendant and Appellant.

Appeal from a judgment of the Superior Court of Orange County, Michael J. Cassidy, Judge. Affirmed. Jennifer A. Gambale, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Gerald A. Engler, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Julie L. Garland, Assistant Attorney General, Peter Quon, Jr., and Susan Elizabeth Miller, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. * * *

A jury convicted Myung Jae Kim of assault with a firearm (Pen. Code, § 245, subd. (a)(2) [count 2], all statutory references are to this code), false imprisonment of a hostage (§ 210.5 [count 3]), assault with a firearm on a peace officer (§ 245, subd. (d)(l) [counts 4-6]), possession of a destructive device in a public place (§ 18715, subd. (a)(2) [count 7]), possession of a destructive device for intimidation or injury (§ 18740 [count 8], and criminal threats (§ 422 [count 9]). The jury also found Kim personally used a deadly weapon (§ 12022, subd. (b)(l)) during the commission of false imprisonment (count 3) and personally used a firearm (§ 12022.5, subd. (a)) during the commission of criminal threats (count 9). Kim contends there is insufficient evidence to sustain the conviction for false imprisonment of a hostage. For the reasons expressed below, we affirm. I FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND In 2006, Michelle Kwon served as branch manager of Hanmi Bank when Kim and his wife opened an account and rented a safe deposit box. Kwon knew the Kims because their children previously attended school together and Kwon was once a customer of Kim’s water purifying business. In March 2007, Kim’s wife claimed approximately $240,000 went missing from the safe deposit box. A bank safety deposit box requires two keys to open: the bank retains one key and the owner has the second key. Kim reported the matter to the police and others, and contacted Kwon several times over the next five years to inquire about the investigation. The bank investigated, but determined employees had followed proper procedures and nothing abnormal occurred on the bank’s part. In September 2011, Kwon left Hanmi Bank for Saehan Bank in Buena Park. On March 1, 2012, around 9:30 a.m., Kim phoned Kwon at Saehan Bank. He again asked about his missing money. Kwon stated they had already “talked about this” and there was nothing more she could do.