Yang Keovongphet was definitely a gang member at some point in his

Published 7:00 am Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Yang Keovongphet was definitely a gang member at some point in his life. In 1994, as a 17-year-old, the Bad Side Posse member was sentenced to four years in prison for two shootings, including the wounding of a rival whom he shot in the back. On Saturday, the 33-year-old lost his life during the deadly melee at Lake Sammamish. Initial media reports indicated that participants in the gunfight had gang ties. But Keovongphet’s family says that’s not true.According to sources that spoke to The Seattle Times, 30-year-old Justin Cunningham of South Seattle (pictured above) shot and killed Keovongphet. Cunningham was then shot and killed himself, they say, by shots fired from the group Keovongphet had been with.There’s no indication thus far that Keovongphet had a weapon. Of the four guns recovered, two were from a car police stopped shortly after the shootings, one was found in a marsh and one was found near Cunningham’s body, a location that would seem to support the source’s claim that he had been one of the shooters.Sakorn Keopanya, Keovongphet’s stepsister, told KOMO that her brother, who was of Laotian descent, was “a changed person.” She also called into question the official police characterization that this was in anyway a gang-related shooting.”People are making judgments that are wrong and hurtful to all of us. What does it help, after he’s gone, for people to offer speculation and stereotypes?” asked Keopanya. “Just because there were a lot of Asians in one place does not mean it was an Asian gang.”There’s no indication that Keovongphat had any trouble with the law from the time he was convicted 16 years ago until Saturday when he was killed. And it’s hard to know whether or not the police are using his former affiliation as the reason for the “gang-related” label, or whether that comes from the presence of other people at the park.Either way, the case still doesn’t have any suspects in custody. Cunningham, incidentally, had no prior felonies.