33-year-old Douglas Yim is currently looking at 126 years to life in prison for the murder of his friend 25-year-old Dzuy Duhn Phan. The two started arguing over the existence of a higher power during a druggy video game session at Yim's house in Oakland back in 2011, but the argument ended when Yim stormed off to his room and returned with an AR-15 assault rifle.

According to a third friend, Paul Park, the two had been drinking, smoking marijuana and snorting cocaine while playing video games when Phan started asking Yim where his God was every time Yim lost the game. According to Park's testimony, Yim was especially incensed when Phan asked where God was when Yim's father died of a stroke years before. The comment pushed Yim over the edge and he threw his controller through the TV screen and stormed off.

Phan and Park tried to calm down their friend, even offering to pay for the TV he broke. When they couldn't talk him down, Phan — who knew Yim had bought the AR-15 rifle to protect his basement marijuana grow operation — told Yim to go get the weapon and shoot him. Which he did.

Park's testimony said Yim went into his room, returned with the loaded weapon and shot Phan at least six times at an extremely close range, injuring Park in the process. After the incident, Yim gave himself up to police.

Although Yim's attorney tried to make a case for manslaughter because his client was under the influence of quite a few drugs at the time, the Alameda County Deputy District Attorney Allyson Donovan successfully argued that Yim's intentions were premeditated and intentional. A plea deal was also thrown out by the DA's office prior to the jury trial and Yim was found guilty of first-degree murder, assault with a firearm and mayhem.

[Oakland Tribune]
[Chron]