Attorney in Bellevue critically wounded by gunfire
He enjoys a solid reputation among his former colleagues in the Snohomish County Prosecutor's Office, where he worked as a deputy prosecutor for nine years before starting a private practice in Mill Creek.
But yesterday Joice was arrested for investigation of first-degree assault after rival attorney Kevin Y. Jung was shot in a car outside his Bellevue office, said Joice's attorney, Stephen Garvey. Jung, 44, was in critical condition this morning at Overlake Hospital Medical Center in Bellevue.
Joice is in King County Jail today on $5 million bail. King County prosecutors said he is dangerous and had enough money to flee the state.
The shooting occurred about an hour before Joice, 50, was scheduled to appear in an Everett courtroom for a contempt-of-court motion brought by Jung in a contentious court battle between the attorneys.
Bellevue police would not confirm yesterday that Joice was taken into custody in the shooting. They would only say they had detained a person of interest in the case.
Jung is well-known in the Seattle-area Korean community. He writes newspaper columns and hosts a weekly legal program on KOAM-TV, a Korean-language channel based in Federal Way. "He is a very respected person in the field," said Jongwon Yi, an attorney and president of the state Korean American Bar Association. "It's very shocking for all of us."
The courtroom dispute between Joice and Jung dates to April 2003, when each was retained by couples involved in a long-standing fight over the franchise rights of a Korean grocery in Lynnwood.
Recently, Jung accused Joice and his clients, Won-Hwoan Ko and his wife, He-Youn Lee, of failing to comply with more than 15 court orders issued against them since the case was brought to court, according to court papers filed in Snohomish County Superior Court.
Jung, who represents Chang Keun Lee and Kil Sook Lee, was expected to ask a court commissioner to sanction Joice and his clients more than $2,000 each during yesterday's hearing in Everett, according to court papers filed Oct. 19 in Snohomish County Superior Court.
Joice, in court papers filed Oct. 14, insisted his clients have complied with all court orders and sanctions. He even attached a photocopy of two checks totaling $6,382.36 written to Jung to signify that his clients were current with payments ordered by the court.
Jung runs his own firm, Kevin Jung Law Group, and focuses on several areas, including international business, real estate and immigration law, friends said. He is married with two young sons and lives in Southeast Bellevue.
Jung had represented Kwang Ja Chung, an owner of a North Bend sushi restaurant who was fatally stabbed by her husband last week. Chung's husband, Man Hong Chung, then fatally stabbed himself.
Chung's husband had been arrested a few days earlier for assaulting his wife and was not supposed to contact her, police said.
Kwang Ja Chung consulted Jung before the murder-suicide about a possible divorce, friends said. He was working with KOAM-TV on a segment that would advise couples on anger management, said station general manager Shelley Ko.
News of Joice's arrest shocked many who had worked with him during his years in the Snohomish County Prosecutor's Office. Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Mark Roe said his co-workers were "stunned."
Roe said Joice worked as a deputy prosecutor from February 1991 through December 2000, handling felony, misdemeanor and District Court cases.
"He's a very nice person," said Everett defense attorney Pete Mazzone. "He's the last person I would ever think of doing this."
Defense attorney Garvey talked to Joice yesterday and was retained as his lawyer.
"He's the most mild-mannered, even-tempered attorney in the county," said Garvey. "Everyone I've talked to is astounded."
After Jung was shot, witnesses supplied Bellevue police with a license-plate number of a car seen leaving the scene. The car was traced to a rental agency in Everett. Joice was arrested by Everett police, Garvey said.
Joice's Mill Creek criminal and civil practice, which he shares with attorney Robert Williamson, was locked and dark yesterday afternoon.
A neighboring business owner said he'd just watched a tow truck, overseen by a police officer, remove Joice's Lexus from the office parking lot.
The man, who asked to remain anonymous, said he once hired Joice to represent him in a civil case.
"You hardly would ever notice the guy, he's so meek," he said. "He's very calm, very quiet."
Jennifer Sullivan: 425-783-0604 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com
Ashley Bach: 206-464-2567 or abach@seattletimes.com
Times staff reporters Kelly Kearsley and Diane Brooks contributed to this report.