An attorney for a city employee accused of killing his coworker argued Tuesday that prosecutors do not have enough evidence to charge him with burglary.
District Judge Jaqueline Bluth disagreed and denied attorney Nick Wooldridge’s petition to dismiss the burglary charge against Brysen Kim, 31.
However, Bluth said the burglary charge would be returned to the grand jury, where Kim would be allowed to testify and present what his attorney called exculpatory evidence.
Wooldridge wrote in court documents that on June 18 Kim had filed notice of his intent to testify at the proceedings, but prosecutors ignored the request. He was indicted a week later.
Kim is accused of fatally shooting Joey McLean, 41, inside a city-owned maintenance yard office on June 12. Kim, who pleaded not guilty, also faces a murder charge with the use of a deadly weapon.
He has been placed on unpaid leave. City records released in July show the two men, both alleging harassment, had been embroiled in a months-long workplace conflict and repeatedly reported each other to human resources. The complaints included allegations that McLean had texted Kim after hours, attacking his religion and marriage.
McLean also alleged that Kim regularly brought a gun to work.
Wooldridge argued that the allegation undermined the burglary charge.
Under Nevada law, a defendant must have intended to commit a felony when entering a location to be charged with burglary. Wooldridge said Kim did not intend to kill McLean when he entered the office and that merely possessing a gun does not, by itself, establish that intent.
“This is a man who always carries a gun, like a lot of people in this town. There’s nothing wrong with that,” Wooldridge said. “There’s no evidence of Mr. Kim concocting a plan or anything like that. This was a spontaneous event.”
The city’s policy states that firearms are prohibited at work, except for employees whose roles require carrying, such as city marshals, or those with sheriff-issued concealed-carry permits.
Deputy District Attorney Morgan Thomas said there was no evidence presented to the grand jury that showed Kim always brought a firearm to work, but rather that there was one prior incident in which he had left a gun in the bathroom.
She did not object to bringing the case back to the grand jury.
After the hearing, Wooldridge said he did not know exactly when the next grand jury proceeding, which are held in private, would happen. Court records show that Kim is due in court again on Oct. 6.
Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewjournal.
