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Uber driver claims DGU - investigated for 1st degree murder

Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2018 1:19 pm
by Bruenor
No criminal record, Hancock has a Licensed to Carry a firearm, he has been a driver for Uber for 3 years.. If he murdered this guy it's certainly not how most people would have setup the scene. He also refused to make a statement without a lawyer present, so he did that right. Will be interesting to see where this goes.

Also interesting how much time the article spends on talking about Ubers policy of no guns for drivers, and their failure to properly screen drivers, as if this incident is because the driver was improperly screened (Yet could legally purchase a firearm and get a CHL).
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/tru ... edirect=on" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Police say Hancock shot Hyun Kim, 45, with a semiautomatic pistol during a confrontation at 2:47 a.m. Friday, according to a partially redacted probable-cause affidavit provided to The Washington Post.

His sedan smashed into a concrete barrier on Interstate 25 in south Denver, coming to a stop perpendicular to traffic.

Blood was found on the highway pavement near 10 spent .40-caliber shell casings that matched the car’s path, police documents show.

Denver police spokeswoman Marika Putnam told The Post on Saturday that the ongoing investigation has yet to determine if Hancock fired while his car was in motion.

A passerby stopped and spoke with Hancock before calling 911, saying Hancock explained he was attacked by Kim, police documents show.

Arriving officers found Kim slumped over on the floorboard of the front passenger seat and provided aid until paramedics arrived, police records show. Kim was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Officers handcuffed Hancock and removed a Ruger pistol from his waistband. .
Friday’s slaying occurred the same day CNN published an investigation that found Uber and its competitor Lyft have approved thousands of drivers who should have been disqualified due to criminal histories.
I see now they are calling it a slaying. Funny when someone is caught in the act with multiple witnesses, they are considered as being suspected of committing the act. but here's a CHL holder claiming self defense and he commited a 'slaying'. So they are convicting this guy before they've even heard his side of the story.

Re: Uber driver claims DGU - investigated for 1st degree mu

Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2018 2:06 pm
by M-Quigley
When I saw this on the CBS evening news I didn't catch any mention of a motive. It was simply an Uber driver shot a passenger several times, that Uber prohibits drivers from carrying, and that he was being investigated for first degree murder. :roll:

If it's self defense it isn't the first time. I recall an Uber driver (I think he was a retired cop) a few years ago who had to shoot a passenger who tried to choke him while he was driving.

If I was any kind of a professional driver these days I would have cameras recording everything that goes on inside the interior. Not because of just situations like this, but riders claiming sexual assault or harrassment, etc. :(

Re: Uber driver claims DGU - investigated for 1st degree mu

Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2018 11:38 am
by M-Quigley
http://kdvr.com/2018/06/04/legal-expert ... er-driver/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I don't have the link for it, but I read he is being charged with 1st degree murder. Also that the family had a Gofundme page for his defense but after it raised 11K Gofundme pulled the page and refunded the money. They claimed it violated their terms of service, but I've seen other gofundme pages that were for legal defenses. Gofundme didn't say to the media at the time exactly what rule was violated, but I did find this rule on their website.
7: campaigns deemed by GoFundMe, in its sole discretion, to be in support of, or for the legal defense of alleged crimes associated with hate, violence, harassment, bullying, discrimination, terrorism, or intolerance of any kind relating to race, ethnicity, national origin, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, sex, gender or gender identity, or serious disabilities or diseases;
Bottom line is, if you are a professional driver and concerned about a legal defense and it's costs, you should have a camera recording what is going on inside, so it's not just your word vs. the prosecutor, and you should probably have some kind of CCW coverage plan.

Re: Uber driver claims DGU - investigated for 1st degree mu

Posted: Fri Oct 11, 2019 10:51 am
by Bruenor
Well those are some interesting details that were not in the original articles.. Exited the vehicle before shooting the passenger, then planted a knife in his hand.. that's not what a good Self defense shoot should look like.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... fense.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
An Uber driver has been found not guilty of murder despite getting out of his car to walk around it and shoot a male passenger ten times after telling a jury that he acted in self-defense because the married father had come on to him.

Michael Hancock, 29, was cleared of the murder of Hyun Kim, 45, a father who he shot dead on a freeway in Denver, Colorado, last year just before 3 a.m. Friday, June 1.
Prosecutors painted a scenario in which Kim was so drunk that he fell asleep in the vehicle. They said Hancock took advantage of it and drove around while he lay in the car unconscious to increase his fare.

They suggested that he then planted a knife in Kim's hand - which he admitted - to stage it as if they'd been fighting.

Hancock's defense was that he legitimately feared for his life and that the fight began when Kim made an unwanted sexual advance on him.
The jury was not given an option of a lesser charge and instead had only to decide on the count of first degree murder which Hancock faced.

They acquitted him. He was taken back to the Downtown Detention Center where he will be processed and released from jail.