News/Commentary

Outrage over hung jury in brutal beating of Asian jewelry store owner despite clear video evidence

September 20, 2023 | | Print Article

A jury was unbelievably deadlocked after two days of deliberation in the robbery and assault of an Asian jewelry store owner by a man caught on video beating the victim with a hammer.

(Video Credit: 6abc Philadelphia)

The brutal assault during a Wilmington, Delaware jewelry store heist played out before the jury, showing suspect Calvin Ushery allegedly attacking 68-year-old Chang Suh who was then stomped and hit in the head at least a dozen times… twice with the hammer.

The mistrial was declared after the jurors told the judge they could not reach a consensus in the state’s case against Ushery despite watching him attack Suh. Ushery is accused by prosecutors of robbery, assault, and other crimes tied to the September 2022 robbery of Solid Gold Jewelers on Ninth Street in downtown Wilmington. They will retry the case according to a spokesperson for the Delaware Department of Justice.

The video of the suspect bludgeoning the owner with a hammer was the first thing prosecutors showed the jury during opening statements before three days of testimony last week.

Matthew Keating, Ushery’s attorney, told the jury that the video of the robbery is “visceral” and “provokes a lot of emotion” but urged them not to hold that against his client. “You shouldn’t jump to conclusions,” he told jurors, according to Delaware Online.

Keating pointed to images from the robbery and the pawn shop, telling the jury, “Similar doesn’t mean the same.”

The first thing the suspect did to the shop owner was pistol whip him causing the man to fall to the ground. After that, the robber placed jewelry in a bag, taking his time to gather the items he was stealing.

But that wasn’t enough for the vicious attacker. Periodically, he would return to the owner on the ground and strike him again for good measure, including blows with a hammer.

Before leaving, the robber used a cloth to wipe surfaces in the store. He was wearing sunglasses and a black backpack during the attack.

The Korean-American jewelry store owner was in intensive care for four days following the assault and was lucky to have survived it. He is now reportedly unable to walk following his head injury.

Surveillance footage caught the suspect riding a bicycle away from the store. Detectives found a bike that matched that description in a search of Ushery’s apartment, according to opening statements by prosecutors.

Other evidence presented to the jury by prosecutors included surveillance footage of the suspect attempting to sell large amounts of jewelry in two local pawn shops a week after the robbery.

“This is not a smash and grab,” Deputy Attorney General Karin Volker asserted. “It is a planned robbery and assault.”

“Additionally, prosecutors said Ushery was arrested shortly after trying to sell jewelry to a woman at a local gas station. Items involved in that transaction were later identified as originating from the heist by a member of the family that owns the store, prosecutors told the jury in opening statements,” Delaware Online reported.

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