On the afternoon of June 15, 2011, Lee and a second suspect allegedly used a tire iron to beat a homeless man near a Los Angeles freeway off-ramp, leaving the victim with a broken forearm and a number of wounds on the head. The attack reportedly occurred after the victim approached Lee's vehicle to beg for money. An argument ensued and Lee and one of his passengers gave chase, ultimately assaulting the transient. Lee was traced to the crime scene after witnesses provided police with a rental vehicle's license plate number that was on loan under his name. Witnesses further assisted authorities in identifying Lee from a photo display.
According to authorities, Lee initiated the attack because he disapproved of the victim's sexually-explicit tattoo, however, the suspect's attorney insists that the incident escalated only after the homeless man made threats and indicated that he had a weapon.
Philip Cohen, Lee's attorney, has made it clear that he disapproves of the way the case has been handled thus far. “It's inappropriate for the LAPD and D.A. to make their arguments in the press. As evidence comes out, the reality will be much different than has been presented.”
Lee, 47, was arrested for the incident last week at Los Angeles International Airport and has been charged with one felony count of assault with a deadly weapon, with a special claim that the attack resulted in extensive bodily harm. The arrest, according to the LAPD, was made by detectives and FBI agents who received the information that Lee would be arriving on a return flight from Korea on January 16, 2012.
According to Cohen, his client was traveling on business to Asia and Europe when he learned that investigators had been to his home in Malibu, California and had issued a warrant for his arrest. Cohen says that Lee contacted investigators immediately in an effort to schedule a date to voluntarily surrender but officials refused to set a date. Lee subsequently returned to Los Angeles, cutting his business trip short.
Lee, who is currently out on $60,000 bail, is scheduled to be arraigned on February 6. He could face as many as seven years in prison if convicted. In 2001 he was convicted of possession of a controlled substance and a misdemeanor for carrying a loaded firearm.
Following Lee's arrest, Pinkberry's Senior Vice President of Marketing and Design, Laura Jakobsen, was quick to release a statement declaring that the company severed ties with Lee prior to the attack. “Mr. Young Lee has no involvement with Pinkberry, our partners, or our more than 170 stores worldwide. Pinkberry ended its ties with Mr. Lee formally on May 1, 2010. He has no influence of input into the company in any way, and the parties have not been in communication with one another since Mr. Lee's exit.” Jakobsen's statement goes on to point out that while the company cannot comment on the Lee case specifically, Pinkberry “stands against acts of violence of any kind, especially those involving the most vulnerable among us.”
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