Latasha Harlins (January 1, 1976 – March 16, 1991) was a 15-year-old African-American teenager who was fatally shot in the Vermont Vista neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, by Soon Ja Du, a Korean-American store owner.
Harlins entered Du's store, Empire Liquor Market, to purchase an individual-sized bottle of orange juice. As Harlins approached the register, Du accused her of attempting to shoplift, which Harlins denied. Du lunged across the counter and grabbed Harlins by her open sweater, pulling her inward. A physical struggle ensued with surveillance video showing that Harlins struck Du to free herself from Du's grip. Afterward Du threw a nearby stool at Harlins who then returned the orange juice bottle to the counter. As Harlins turned and walked toward the exit, Du retrieved a .38-caliber revolver and shot Harlins in the back of the head, killing her instantly.
Following the shooting, the store's security camera footage was leaked to the press and broadcast across local television news, sparking public outrage. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) held a press conference and Du was arrested. She was subsequently released on $250,000 bail. Du maintained that she was the victim in the incident and that the homicide was justified.
A grand jury formally indicted Du on a charge of first-degree murder, which carried a maximum sentence of 30 years to life in prison. The trial jury ultimately found Du guilty of voluntary manslaughter. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Joyce Karlin sentenced Du to a suspended 10-year sentence, 5 years of probation, 400 hours of community service, a $500 fine, and restitution of Harlins' funeral costs to her family.
The sentencing was widely regarded as extremely light and directly contributed to the racial tensions that fueled the 1992 Los Angeles riots. The killing of Harlins occurred 13 days after the release of the videotaped police beating of motorist Rodney King.
Life
Latasha Lavon Harlins was born January 1, 1976, in East St. Louis, Illinois, to Crystal Harlins and Sylvester "Vester" Acoff Sr. She was the eldest of three children, followed by a brother, Vester Acoff Jr. (born in 1979), and a sister, Christina (born in 1981).
In 1981 when Harlins was 5 years old, the family relocated from Illinois to California and settled in South Central Los Angeles. Following the move, Acoff Sr. secured employment at a local steel foundry, while Crystal worked as a waitress and studied during the day to obtain a real estate license. Her parents' relationship was marked by severe domestic instability, leading to their permanent separation in 1983.
On November 27, 1985 when Harlins was nine-years-old, her mother, Crystal Harlins was fatally shot in the chest during an argument at a local nightclub by Cora Mae Anderson. Appellate court records show that the women were acquaintances and had known each other several months prior to the incident. Anderson was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to serve five years in prison.
Following the loss of her mother, Acoff Sr. permanently left the household and moved out of state. Harlins and her siblings were taken in and raised by their maternal grandmother, Ruth Harlins, a county public social services clerk originally from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, who cared for the children with a disciplined but gentle hand. According to a profile published in the Los Angeles Times, Harlins internalized much of her grief but would quietly cry whenever she passed the Inglewood Park Cemetery on Manchester Boulevard, which reminded her of her mother, even though she was not buried there.
Despite her personal hardships, Harlins excelled academically and socially. Known by neighborhood friends for her bangs and her smile, she was affectionately nicknamed "Lil' Gizmo." In middle school, she ran track and was a consistent honor roll student. She regularly spent her afternoons at the Algin Sutton Recreation Center and took on a protective role for younger kids, earning her the reputation of the "neighborhood big sister." By 1991, Harlins was a ninth-grade student attending Westchester High School, where she played basketball.
Harlins had set explicit goals to attend the University of Southern California (USC) and to become a lawyer. Reflecting on her legacy, her sister, Dr. Christina Rogers, stated in a later interview with StoryCorps that Harlins was so popular in South Central that she initially believed her sister was a celebrity, serving as a powerful motivational influence during their short time together. Her brother, Vester Jr. added that his favorite childhood memories involved putting on talent shows with his sisters in the family living room.
Death
Soon Ja Du and Empire Liquor Market
Soon Ja Du was born in North Chungcheong Province, South Korea, as the oldest daughter of upper-class parents. While attending college, she married Hong Ki "Billy" Du, a Taekwondo instructor who trained U.S. military forces stationed in South Korea. Together, the couple had three children. In 1976, seeking to escape a highly competitive Korean school system, the family immigrated to the United States and settled in Inglewood, California.
For her first years in the United States, Du worked in a garment factory while her husband secured a job as a repairman. In 1981, using a small business loan, the family purchased their first convenience market in San Fernando. Seeking higher profits, they later sold that business to operate a similar store in Newhall. In 1989, the family purchased the Empire Liquor Market for $380,000. As a deaconess of a conservative Presbyterian church, Du had expressed her discomfort with earning a living by selling liquor.
The Empire Liquor Market was located at the intersection of West 91st Street and South Figueroa Street, in the Vermont Vista neighborhood of Los Angeles.Although normally staffed by her husband and her son, Joseph, Soon Ja Du worked occasional weekend mornings to avoid busier periods.
The market developed a hostile reputation within the neighborhood. Harlins’ grandmother warned her and her other grandchildren not to shop at the Du family's store. Latasha’s uncle, Richard Harlins briefly worked at the store but cited what he characterized as hostile and suspicious treatment towards the local clientele and its Black employees and his reason for his resignation. Some of the local residents chose to avoid shopping at the market.
On the morning of Saturday, March 16, 1991, Soon Ja Du was working behind the counter while her husband slept outside in a delivery van parked in front of the store. The store was a short walk from Harlins home. Shortly before 10:00 a.m., Harlins entered the market and placed a $1.79 bottle of orange juice in an outside pocket of her backpack. Du concluded that Harlins was attempting to shoplift and failed to notice the $2.00 cash Harlins held openly in her hand. Du later told police that she asked Harlins if she intended to pay, to which Harlins had replied "What orange juice?" However, two child eyewitnesses disputed this, testifying at trial that Du immediately accused Harlins of stealing, and that Harlins had stated she intended to pay.
Based in part to their analysis of the store’s overhead security camera's videotape, LAPD investigators determined that Harlins showed no intent to steal and approached the counter with money in hand. The videotape captured Soon Ja Du grabbing Harlins by her sweater, pulling her into the counter, seizing her backpack. A struggle ensued and Harlins struck Du, knocking Du back, releasing Harlins' sweater. After Harlins backed away, Du hurled a stool at her. Harlins is seen retrieving the orange juice bottle off the ground and placing it on the counter with Du knocking it away. Harlins remained in front of the counter for several seconds, then turned to leave. Du reached under the counter, withdrew a .38-caliber revolver from its holster, and fired a single shot from a distance of approximately three feet (one meter). The bullet struck Harlins in the back of the head, killing her instantly. The publicly released footage ended shortly thereafter. According to police statements, Du's husband Billy heard gunfire and rushed into the store to find Harlins dead on the floor. Du fainted and her husband dialed 9-1-1 to report an attempted robbery.
Investigation
When police arrived at the scene, Soon Ja Du complained of a head injury and was transported to Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center where she was treated for minor, superficial injuries. Authorities declined to take her into custody at the hospital while details remained sketchy.
On March 17, the Los Angeles Times reported the initial police account. Police Detective Jeff Alvarado stated that the store owner alleged that a struggle ensued after the teenager tried to shoplift a bottle of orange juice. However, Alvarado noted that early details indicated the girl had given the juice back and was attempting to walk away when she was shot in the back of the head. Soon Ja Du was officially booked on suspicion of murder hours later once investigators reviewed the physical evidence.
On March 18, LAPD Commander Michael J. Bostic held a press conference to clarify the facts of the incident, stated that the videotape showed Harlins had no intent to steal, had money openly in her hand, and had placed the juice back on the counter before turning to leave, stating that, "There was no attempt at shoplifting. There was no robbery. There was no crime at all," and characterized the shooting as "just a business dispute" with no immediate racial overtones. Latasha's aunt, Ahneva Harlins, contended that "My niece was shot in cold blood." at the same press conference
Initial news coverage of the shooting relied heavily on early police and merchant accounts. On March 17, the day after the shooting, initial mainstream reports focused primarily on the shoplifting allegations made by the store owners. Following the release of the security camera footage, mainstream reporting and defense advocacy shifted the focus toward the broader crime rates of suffered by business owners in the South Central area.
Joseph Du, the 30-year-old son of Soon Ja Du, publicly asserted that the shooting was an accident, and maintained that his mother genuinely believed Harlins was trying to steal the juice and rob the register. While explaining that their store was located in a "gang-controlled area," Joseph Du added, "What are we going to do? We have two guns in the store for defense reasons." He contended that authorities were using his mother as a "scapegoat" to placate the Black community during the intense public outcry surrounding the LAPD beating of Rodney King, which had occurred just two weeks prior.
By March 20, local residents interviewed by the Los Angeles Times described a history of friction at the Empire Liquor Market, reporting that some neighbors had stopped patronizing the business due to frequent verbal insults and shoplifting accusations by the owners.
On March 29, the Los Angeles Times published letters from local community members illustrating divergent viewpoints. A letter signed by 234 of Harlins's classmates questioned whether her shooting was motivated by "racial intolerance," issues of gun control, or a lack of institutional concern regarding homicides in the area.
Conversely, local LAPD Officer G. Holmstrom expressed concern over characterizations of the event as purely racially motivated. He wrote that the Du family had been repeatedly threatened and "terrorized" by local gang members, forcing the temporary closure of the store the previous month. Holmstrom added that while three individuals were in custody, other gang members had threatened the Du family ahead of Joseph Du's scheduled court testimony. Holmstrom described Soon Ja Du as being in a "very jittery" mental state at the time of the shooting, though clarified that this "did not excuse what she did to Latasha."
During the pre-trial phase, defense advocates and merchant associations heavily publicized the history of armed robberies, violent crime, and structural challenges faced by South Central merchants, presenting these long-standing neighborhood issues as the immediate context for the incident. Media coverage featured detailed accounts of the psychological stress experienced by the merchant class, and highlighted the prior crime incident involving Soon Ja Du’s son, framing the family's history of factory labor as a supporting narrative of strong work ethic. This reporting contrasted with the specific logistics of the case established during the investigation; while coverage centered heavily on the high crime rates surrounding the South Central storefront, Soon Ja Du herself primarily worked at a separate store location in Santa Clarita. On August 17, 1991, a small fire occurred at the Empire Liquor Market. The incident was widely condemned by Black church leaders and activists.
Court proceedings
Trial
On September 30, 1991, Soon Ja Du's jury trial began in Los Angeles Superior Court and concluded on October 11, 1991.
Thirteen-year-old Lakeshia Combs and her nine-year-old brother, Ismail Ali, testified at trial that Latasha approached the counter holding cash in her hand and that Soon Ja Du called Harlins a "bitch", accused her of attempting to steal the orange juice, which prompted Harlins to state that she intended to pay for it. David Butler, a ballistics expert with the LAPD, testified that the weapon involved had undergone modifications that drastically decreased the amount of pressure required to pull the trigger and also noted that the revolver's safety features were malfunctioning.