'Most Wanted' Suspect In Botched Bay Area Murder Arrested After A Decade On The Run

SAN JOSE, CA — A 31-year-old man featured in San Jose's "Most Wanted Fugitives" for a botched ambush-style killing of another man in the Bay Area nearly a decade ago has been arrested, police said.

Myung Kim is accused of orchestrating and carrying out the fatal shooting of another man in San Jose on June 27, 2016.

The 31-year-old is also accused of killing his friend over an argument two years later, authorities said.

Kim was located in Laos recently and taken into custody on suspicion of murder, the San Jose Police Department announced Wednesday, bringing an end to the decade-long manhunt for him.

Kim hired a group of hitmen to kill someone that night in San Jose.

Kim and his hired guns were in the 1700 block of Cape Aston Court around 9:20 p.m. on the night of the shooting, lying in wait for the victim, police said.

When the victim, who was driving a car, pulled up to a stop sign, the suspects, including Kim, jumped out, police said.

At least one person fired into the car, police said, killing one person. However, the person killed was not the intended target, police said.

Kim and the other suspects fled the scene before officers arrived, and the victim died from their injuries, police said.

While detectives investigated the shooting in San Jose, Kim at some point headed down to Southern California, where he was arrested on suspicion of dealing drugs and being a convicted felon in possession of guns and ammo, authorities said.

On Sept. 5, 2018, Kim shot and killed his friend after arguing with him over money at a CVS parking lot in Westminster, police said.

But by the time detectives tied Kim to both murders, the 31-year-old was gone. Despite several efforts, authorities were never able to find him.

That is, until Kim walked into a United States Embassy in Laos to inquire about travel documentation, police said.

He left shortly after, as Laos and the United States don't have an extradition treaty, police said.

But detectives were notified of Kim's location, and following a "high-level diplomatic cooperation from the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security in Vientiane and Laos authorities," Kim was transported back to the United States to face charges, police said.

"No matter how much time passes or how far someone runs, accountability can still find them," said San José Police Chief Paul Joseph. "Our homicide detectives never gave up on this case, and their persistence, combined with extraordinary support from our law enforcement partners, brought this suspect back to San José to face justice."