By Associated Press
Jury selection has begun in Grays Harbor Superior Court in the case of Minh Duc Hong, charged in the Fourth of July fatal stabbing of a man he said waved a Confederate flag and shouted racial slurs at him.
Charged with first-degree manslaughter, Hong, 26, is accused of stabbing 20-year-old Christopher Kinison 22 times at a Texaco station in Ocean Shores.
Hong, of Seattle, says he acted in defense. Prosecutors say Hong acted “recklessly” by stabbing an unarmed Kinison so many times.
Hong; his twin brother, Hung Duc Hong; and a third Asian American man had gone to the Texaco station for some food last summer when they were confronted by Kinison. Witnesses told police Kinison stepped away from a crowd and confronted the Hongs, waving a Confederate flag and shouting racial epithets.
The three men walked past him into the gas station’s mini mart. Minh Hong says he took two short paring knives from the store and hid them in his clothes. The brothers paid for their food and walked out.
Witnesses gave police different accounts of what followed. Some said Kinison continued to taunt the Hongs with racial slurs, then punched Hung Hong in the face, knocking his glasses off. Minh Hong then jumped to his brother’s aid and attacked Kinison.
Some witnesses said that while Kinison taunted the three men, at least one of the brothers taunted him back, pretending to reach for a knife tucked in a sock.
Still others say the brothers and their friend were taunted as they walked to their car, got in and started to drive away. Then they stopped and got out to confront Kinison.
Most told police they never saw the knife — that it looked as if Minh Hong was only punching Kinison.
At pretrial hearings, Judge David Foscue said he will let defense attorneys call a Seattle psychologist during Hong’s trial to discuss how someone might react when faced with a situation like the one Hong encountered. Dr. Gary E. Connor testified that people in those circumstances often have tunnel vision and reduced hearing.
The judge, however, said he will not let defense lawyers present evidence that Kinison was involved in other racial incidents during the July 4 weekend. |
