Robber Picked Up Dropped Police Handgun and Pulled Trigger at Officer During Arrest... Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison

Gun Did Not Fire Thanks to Safety Mechanism

Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison for Attempted Murder and Other Charges

It was belatedly revealed during the trial that a man in his 50s, who had committed a robbery against a woman in broad daylight and fled just three months after being released from prison, picked up a police officer's dropped handgun and pulled the trigger at the officer during a physical struggle with police. Fortunately, thanks to a safety device on the trigger designed to prevent accidental discharge, the incident did not result in any casualties.

According to the legal community on September 10, the 11th Criminal Division of Ulsan District Court (Presiding Judge Park Dongkyu) recently sentenced the defendant, a man in his 50s identified as A, to eight years in prison for attempted murder and attempted aggravated robbery, among other charges.

Struggle with Police, Pulled Trigger of Handgun... Safety Device Prevented Catastrophe

In April of this year, A engaged in a scuffle after police officer B, who had been pursuing him, tackled him from behind at a vacant lot in Nam-gu, Ulsan, during the daytime. During the struggle, the retention device on officer B’s holster broke, causing the handgun to fall to the ground.

Because of his previous convictions, A believed that if he was caught, he would face a heavy sentence. He grabbed the fallen handgun before anyone else and, from a distance of 3 meters, aimed and pulled the trigger at officer B.

However, the anti-accidental discharge device on the trigger prevented the gun from firing. Taking advantage of that moment, officer B climbed on top of A, pinned him to the ground, and grabbed his wrist to prevent him from moving. Although A resisted violently and refused to let go of the gun, he was completely subdued about 10 minutes later when other officers arrived.

Committed Daylight Robbery against a Woman and Fled

The day before, A had attempted a robbery in broad daylight and was pursued. At that time, when a woman opened the driver’s side door of a parked vehicle and got in, A immediately opened the passenger side door, followed her inside, pulled out a weapon, and forced her to drive to an isolated location. Once they arrived at a motel parking lot, he tried to tie up both her hands and feet. However, as the woman repeatedly pressed the car horn and screamed in resistance, A struck her in the face, attempted to detain her, steal her belongings, and then fled.

The police identified the vehicle A had used to escape and issued a warrant for his arrest. When the wanted vehicle was detected through the Wanted Automobile Search System (WASS), officer B pursued A and eventually ended up in a physical altercation with him. A had committed these crimes approximately three months after being released from prison for gambling offenses. Officer B suffered injuries that required two weeks of medical treatment.

The court stated, "The defendant’s actions nearly cost the police officer his life," and added, "Even in court, the defendant offered implausible excuses, such as claiming he grabbed the gun intending to commit suicide, and has shown no remorse." The court continued, "The defendant has multiple previous convictions, including robbery resulting in injury, sex offenses, and traffic law violations, and nonetheless committed this crime during a repeat-offender period, demonstrating a markedly deficient sense of lawfulness. Severe punishment is therefore necessary," explaining the reasoning for the sentencing.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.