Courtesy Kent PD.Brody Koga didn’t abide shoplifters in his store. It was a policy that would cost him dearly.Koga, an assistant manager at the Rite Aid on Southeast 256th Street in Kent, was working behind the counter on Thursday when a short, skinny white male in his early 20s grabbed two cartons of cigarettes and bolted for the door.The 52-year-old supervisor gave chase, following the thief to a retaining wall at the edge of the Rite Aid parking lot. Both men went down the six-foot fall. The suspect scampered off. Koga lay in a pool of his own blood, dying of a head injury.Brody Koga.Lt. Pat Lowery of the Kent PD said this morning that a woman who was portrayed in press accounts as creating a diversion during the theft came forward to police, gave a statement, and was released. “She acknowledged being there,” says Lt. Lowery, though he says she didn’t identify the suspect. Did she acknowledge taking part in the theft? “We’re not releasing that information,” Lt. Lowery responded.The lieutenant added that investigators are following up on a lead from the PD’s tip line this morning. Assuming the man is captured, will he face charges related to Koga’s death? For that to happen, Lt. Lowery says, “We would have to be able to show through evidence that [the perpetrator’s] actions–something more than just his running away–led to the death of Mr. Koga. That would be some type of physical altercation.” According to the lieutenant, two witnesses to the chase have talked to police, and neither of them reported seeing any physical contact between Koga and the suspect. So the answer on that score would seem to be no. Still, assuming the thief is not a sociopath, he must be feeling pretty terrible about this. His plan was to get his hands on a few packs of cigarettes, and instead he winds up responsible for a man’s death.”Had he stopped inside the store when the manager tried to detain him, this wouldn’t have happened,” says Lt. Lowery. “For most people with a conscience, that would weigh on them.”Follow The Daily Weekly on Facebook and Twitter.