Man in 30s Wearing Electronic Ankle Monitor Arrested for Convenience Store Robbery and Murder... Court Cites "Flight Risk"

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] A man in his 30s who killed a convenience store owner and stole money while wearing an electronic tracking device (electronic anklet) has been arrested by the police.

Incheon Gyeyang Police Station detained Mr. A (32) on the 11th on charges of robbery and murder.

Judge Lee Hodong of the Incheon District Court conducted a pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant review) for Mr. A that afternoon and issued the warrant, citing "risk of flight."

Before the warrant review, when reporters asked Mr. A, "Why did you kill the victim?" he briefly replied, "I'm sorry." When asked if he had anything to say to the bereaved family, he repeated the same words. He denied the question, "Did you intend to kill from the beginning?" by saying, "No."

A man in his 30s who killed a convenience store owner, cut off the electronic ankle bracelet he was wearing, and fled, is entering the Incheon District Court on the 11th to undergo a warrant hearing.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Mr. A is accused of stabbing the convenience store owner Mr. B (33) with a weapon and killing him at around 10:52 p.m. on the 8th in a convenience store in Gyeyang-gu, Incheon, then stealing about 200,000 won in cash and fleeing. After the crime, he changed clothes at his nearby residence, damaged the electronic anklet he was wearing, and escaped by taxi.

He was caught by the police at around 6:30 a.m. the day before, two days after the escape, while hiding in a motel in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province.

During the police investigation, he reportedly stated, "I went to the convenience store to steal money because I had none," and "Mr. B shouted and defended himself, so I stabbed him momentarily (with the weapon)."

Since 2007, when he was 16 years old, Mr. A has repeatedly committed violent crimes such as special theft and special robbery. In 2014, he was also prosecuted for robbery and injury, sentenced to seven years in prison, and ordered to wear an electronic anklet for 10 years after his release.