‘Shanked Him in the Heart’: Teen Who Stabbed LA Shop Owner Gets Five Years in Juvenile Facility

A teenager who reportedly pleaded guilty in the stabbing death of a Los Angeles, California, man was recently sentenced to five years in a juvenile facility.

The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office said the sentencing was in regard to voluntary manslaughter charges, Fox News reported Monday.

“Initially, the office said at the time of the Oct. 1 incident last year, two 17-year-olds were charged with murder and second-degree robbery in the death of 56-year-old Fashion District vendor Du ‘Tommy’ Lee,” the outlet said.

People who saw the shoplifting incident unfold claimed the teenagers, a boy and girl, stole a wig from the man’s store and the man chased them.

“Lee and one of the teens wrestled for a gun that the shoplifters had. Then, the store’s landlord told the outlet, one of the teens ‘pulled out a knife and shanked him right in the heart,'” the Fox report said.

The owner of the building where Lee’s (pictured above) shop was located told ABC 7 the victim was kind to everyone.

“Tommy was a righteous, honest, hard-working man. He worked seven days a week. Never took a day off,” he stated.

The outlet’s video footage appears to show the moments before the stabbing occurred:

“Tommy was a hero. He protected what was his and he also protected everyone else,” the building owner noted.

One of the two teenagers has reportedly pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter. The second young person is expected to appear in court in the next few weeks.

Breitbart News reported in 2018, “A new study by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) found voter-approved Proposition 47, which reduced penalties for lower-level crimes, increased property crimes by 9 percent.”

That article continued:

Passing with almost 60 percent support, Prop 47 reduced shoplifting, grand theft, receiving stolen property, check forgery, check fraud, and writing bad checks where the loss does not exceed $950 from felonies to misdemeanors. The measure also downgraded the personal use of most illegal drugs from a felony to a misdemeanor.

Lee had reportedly been robbed several times before the fatal incident.

Following the stabbing, community leaders called for more police to increase safety, per Fox 11.