Jason Coday

Jason Michael Coday (born February 7, 1978) is a man from Vernal, Utah. On May 15, 2007, he was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Simone Yung Kim behind the Fred Meyer store in Juneau, Alaska on August 4, 2006.

Coday came to Juneau on August 2, 2006 aboard the Alaska Marine Highway System ferry M/V Matanuska. That same day, he is believed to have illegally taken a gun from Rayco Sales, a Juneau gun store located across Egan Drive from Fred Meyer, leaving $200 on the counter. He also bought ammunition at the Fred Meyer store using cash. The murder of Simone Yung Kim, a painting contractor from Anchorage who was involved in construction work occurring at the store, was apparently a random act of violence. Coday allegedly shot Kim in the face and continued to shoot the victim using two more rounds of ammunition.

Trial details Coday's bail had been set at $1 million. began on Monday, May 7, 2007. The defense attempted to have Coday's arrest and the gathering of evidence in the case deemed illegal, due to inconsistencies in witnesses' description of the suspect at the time of the arrest, but Juneau-based Alaska Superior Court Judge Michael Thompson decided against the motion.

Jury selection began on May 8 and concluded the following day. Testimony lasted from May 10 and ended on May 15, when the jury began deliberation. The prosecution used the testimony of two Fred Meyer workers who witnessed the killing. In addition, the owner of Rayco Sales, Ray Coxe, testified that Coday had illegally taken a Ruger 10/22 .22-caliber rifle from the store and left two $100 bills on the counter. The rifle was identified as the murder weapon. DNA evidence pointed to Coday as the killer with the odds of an error being about 1 in 49 billion. Tracks from Coday's shoes at the crime scene were another factor. Coday received 99 years in prison for Kim's death, and an additional two years for weapons misconduct, for sawing off the end of the murder weapon. He will be eligible for parole in 2046. The Juneau Empire reported on July 31, 2008 that Kim's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against both Coday and Coxe. Court documents filed in the suit allege that Coxe should have known better than to leave Coday alone in the store with the firearm he wound up stealing.