Young Lee

Young Lee
Born Young Lee
(1934-09-06) September 6, 1934
Nationality American
Known for Co-founder of Pinkberry
Criminal charge Assault with a deadly weapon
Criminal penalty 7 years without parole
Criminal status Incarcerated
Conviction(s) November 8, 2013 (pleaded not guilty)

Young Lee (born 6 September 1934) is a California convicted felon and businessman who was the co-founder of Pinkberry, a chain of frozen yogurt stores. He left the company in 2010.[1]

Early life

Lee studied interior design at Parsons School of Design,[2] and claims to have worked for some time as a club bouncer.[3]

Pinkberry

In Fast Company he cited his design influences for branding Pinkberry as the mom-and-pop yogurterias of Italy.[3]

Criminal case

In 2001, Lee was sentenced to two days in jail and three years' probation for "felony possession of cocaine and two misdemeanor counts of battery of a spouse,... and carrying a loaded firearm".[4]

In January 2012, Lee was arrested on an outstanding warrant for assault with a deadly weapon, issued in June 2011 after Lee beat a homeless man with a tire iron.[5][6] Lee was on a flight inbound from Korea when the LAPD was notified by a federal database. Prosecutors said Lee and another man chased the homeless man and "beat him down" with the tire iron because while at a traffic stop the transient approached Lee's car and showed Lee and his fiancee his sexually explicit tattoo which they found offensive.[7] LAPD officials said that Lee demanded that the man kneel and apologize, the man consented, but Lee attacked him anyway, chasing him down, kicking him and "beating him down" with a tire iron.[8] Lee's lawyer gave a different account of the incident describing the homeless man as threatening Lee and the passengers in his car.[4] On November 8, 2013 Lee was found guilty.[9] On March 14, 2014, Lee was sentenced to seven years imprisonment without parole, the maximum sentence.[10]

References

  1. ↑ Shuji Sakai (17 January 2012). "[Updated] Pinkberry Co-Founder Arrested at LAX". LA Weekly. Retrieved 2012-02-18.
  2. ↑ "The Scoop on Pinkberry". Saturday Night. Retrieved 2012-02-18.
  3. 1 2 Alissa Walker. "Berry, Berry Ambitious". Fast Company. Retrieved 2012-02-18.
  4. 1 2 Gold, Scott; Andrew Blankstein; Victoria Kim (18 January 2012). "Pinkberry co-founder Young Lee accused of chasing, beating transient". Los Angeles Times.
  5. ↑ Blankstein, Andrew; Robert J. Lopez (16 January 2012). "Pinkberry co-founder Young Lee arrested on assault warrant - latimes.com". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  6. ↑ Blankstein, Andrew (17 January 2012). "Pinkberry co-founder beat homeless man with tire iron, LAPD says - latimes.com". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  7. ↑ Shelby Grad (17 January 2012). "Sexually explicit tattoo angered Pinkberry founder, officials say". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-02-18.
  8. ↑ Andrew Blankstein (30 January 2012). "Pinkberry co-founder pleads not guilty to tire iron assault". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-02-18.
  9. ↑ "Pinkberry co-founder guilty of beating a homeless man". BBC News. 8 November 2013.
  10. ↑ Mather, Kate (14 March 2014). "Pinkberry co-founder 'merciless' in beating homeless man, judge says". Los Angeles Times.
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