Suspects in cab shooting plead not guilty

-- Sue Doyle

NEWPORT BEACH -- Two taxi drivers pleaded not guilty Friday to murder

charges of shooting and killing a friend as he sat inside a cab at

Newport Pier.

David Keum Yung Ji, 53, of Anaheim, and Chae Jung Han, 53, of Garden

Grove, appeared briefly in Harbor Justice Center to enter their pleas.

The two were arrested April 26 on suspicion of shooting and killing Hyang

Baek, 55, of Westminster. Police described the case as a botched suicide

pact between the three men.

Ji and Han will return to court July 21 for a pretrial hearing.

Both prosecutors and defense attorneys declined to comment on the case.

The three friends allegedly discussed suicide as they drove around Orange

County on the day of the shooting. Police said they were drinking

alcohol, depressed about their financial situations.

One of the men brought a handgun along for the ride, police said.

Around 7 p.m., the cab stopped at 24th Street and West Ocean Front. Baek,

who sat in the front seat, was shot at point-blank range. Ji and Han ran

from the scene near McFadden Square, but were caught by police a few

minutes later.

Both men are being held in Orange County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bail.