A coroner’s inquest jury has returned a finding of homicide in the shooting death of an unarmed man.
Store owner Johnny Lam shot and killed Hugh Thompson, 50, of Market Street, after he allegedly tried to steal a hose from Por Por’s Food Store on January 25, 2017.
Lam shot Thompson, whose street name was “Sixty”, three times in the buttocks and legs with a licensed shotgun.
Lam said he closed up his shop, located on Market Street, around 7pm and retired to his home on the property.
About an hour later, he heard a noise outside which he investigated. Lam said when he looked at his surveillance cameras he saw a man trying to take something from a container.
That’s when Lam got his shotgun and ordered Thompson to stop. When Thompson didn’t obey his command, Lam shot him and then called police.
Thompson, who had an arrest history for minor offences, died at the scene. Police found the hose that Thompson supposedly tried to steal at his feet.
Police arrested Lam on suspicion of murder but no charges were filed. Instead, police sent the case to the Coroner’s Court for further investigation.
The five-member inquest jury returned its unanimous verdict on March 2 after listening to two days of testimony. A coroner’s jury does not determine criminal or civil liability.
Coroner Jeanine Weech-Gomez asked the jury to determine the identity of the deceased; the place and time of death; the cause of death and manner of death.
The jury found that the deceased was Hugh Thompson, who died at Por Por’s Food Store on January 25, 2017 from a shotgun wound to the right lower extremity. The jury found the manner of death a homicide.
The coroner’s case file will now be forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions, who will determine if any charges will be filed.
