Liquor store owner remembered at vigil, SJPD announce arrest
SAN JOSE, Calif. (KTVU) - SAN JOSE (BCN) A 21-year-old man has been arrested for the fatal shooting of San Jose liquor store owner Hieu "Charlie" Ly during an apparent attempted robbery at the store on Monday night, police said today.
Suspect Muniunmee Hendrix of San Jose was arrested in Merced in the Central Valley on Thursday after San Jose detectives tracked him there, police said.
Officers who responded to a report of a shooting at Jim's Liquors at 2860 Quimby Rd. at about 10:53 p.m. on Monday found Ly, 58, on the floor suffering from at least one gunshot wound and he was pronounced dead at the scene a short time later, according to police.
The suspect, who was later identified as Hendrix, fled the scene and was not immediately located, police said.
A preliminary investigation revealed that Ly was shot as the suspect was attempting to commit an armed robbery of the liquor store, according to police.
After an extensive investigation by detectives from the San Jose Police Department's homicide, gang and burglary units, Hendrix was identified as the suspect, police said.
San Jose police said anyone with information about the shooting should call Detective Sgt. Mike Montonye or Detective Jason Tanner of their homicide unit at (408) 277-5283. They said people who want to remain
anonymous may call the Crime Stoppers tip line at (408) 947-7867.
A GoFundMe campaign established to help Ly's family has received $13,646 in donations as of 1:30 p.m. today. The campaign's goal is to raise $20,000.
The GoFundMe page created on behalf of the family describes Hieu and his wife Lilly as "working tirelessly at their liquor store for 10 years."
It says, "In their everyday seemingly ordinary interactions with their customers, they have built countless friendships and established a strong presence in the community."
The website says, "For being the incredibly humble, hardworking, kind, loving man that Hieu is, his life did not deserve to end this way. Our family is in absolute shock and grief."
Donations can be made to the fund at https://www.gofundme.com/hieulyfamily.
The family said the money will go to Hieu's oldest son, Kevin Ly, in their San Jose household "to help take care of the day-to-day living expenses and our mom."
A vigil will be held at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Jim's Liquor Mart.
Ly's relatives told KTVU that the 58-year-old man has been sleeping on the floor and refused the suspect's demands, as his wife was working the cash register. After Ly told the armed robber "No," Ly's relatives told KTVU that he was shot in the chest.
Ly was among two Bay Area men this week to be killed after refusing or chasing after armed thieves. Oakland musician David Deporis was killed Wednesday after running after a person who stole his laptop in the Temescal district.
In the San Jose case, there was video surveillance inside the liquor store at the time, which has not been publicly shared.
Police did not immediately provide any public evidence linking Hendrix to the crime. Efforts to immediately speak to Hendrix or determine if he had a lawyer were not successful on Friday.