Witnesses say drugs, rock-
throwing involved in
fatal shooting

By Crystal Kua
Star-Bulletin

Rocks, gangs and drugs were mixed up in the fatal shooting of 21-year-old Gercel Ong in Ewa Beach on Nov. 20, witnesses told a District Court judge yesterday.

Edwin Alexandre Kim, 23, is charged with second-degree murder and two firearms violations in connection with Ong's death. He is being held in lieu of $500,000 bail.

At the conclusion of a preliminary hearing for Kim yesterday, District Judge Tenney Tongg found there was sufficient evidence to send the Kim case for trial in Circuit Court. Kim is scheduled to be arraigned on Dec. 13.

Ong and his friends went to the home of an alleged gang member to buy drugs late on the night of Nov. 19, Ong's friend, Mark Liwag, testified. "Everybody decided we wanted to buy drugs," he said.

They bought $25 worth of drugs and then left, he said. Before leaving, they saw several people standing in front of the house.

Kim was one of the guys "hanging out" in front of the house, said Kim's friend, Hui Kingrasaphone, who was also present. Someone apparently began throwing rocks at them, Kingrasaphone said.

"Rocks just started flying toward us," said another friend, Leonard Betonio.

Kim and his friends jumped in their cars to look for those responsible for the rock-throwing but couldn't find anyone, so they went back to the house.

Liwag said that after midnight, his group decided to drive back to buy more drugs at the house.

Liwag said he was sitting in the back seat with Ong when the car drove by the house. They saw Kim and his friends outside again and decided not to stop to buy drugs.

All three said they didn't recognize anyone on either side.

When the Toyota Tercel with Ong and his friends drove by, someone yelled out that the car contained members of a gang.

Kingrasaphone said people in his group assumed that the people in the Tercel threw the rocks.

Kim and his friends jumped into three cars and chased the Tercel to Fort Weaver Road.

Betonio said that at one point he saw Kim lean out of the car's passenger window with a gun pointed at the Tercel and he heard a "pow."

Ong died of a single gunshot wound to the chest.