Jonathan Jung Family Seeks to Revive Bicycle Casino Wrongful Death Suit

Posted on: March 17, 2025, 01:36h. 

Last updated on: March 17, 2025, 01:47h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More

Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.

• Family disputes ruling, claims excessive force caused Jung’s death
• Coroner cited meth toxicity, experts argue positional asphyxia
• Legal team appeals after retrial motion was denied
  

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The parents of a Korean American man who died four years ago after being tackled by security officials at Bell Gardens, Calif.’s Bicycle Casino, isn’t ready to give up fighting for their son.

Korean American Jonathan Jung died after being held down on concrete in the casino’s parking lot while one security agent allegedly placed a knee on his back.

Controversially, a Los Angeles jury determined in July last year that while Bike security staff were negligent in their actions toward Jung, they didn’t cause his death. That’s because the jury relied on a coroner’s report that cited the cause of death as methamphetamine toxicity.

Terrence Jones, a lawyer for Jung’s family, told CBS News on Sunday he believes the autopsy report was flawed.

Mental Health Crisis

On July 4, 2021, Jung, who suffered from schizoaffective disorder, was playing baccarat at the casino when he experienced an acute mental health crisis. Jung began hearing voices and talking to himself, which prompted staff to ask him to leave.

Lawyers for the casino argued he was behaving erratically and needed to be subdued because he might be a danger to others. However, he made no attempt to threaten anyone and left peacefully, according to Jung’s family. He even left $3.8K on the gaming table.

Jung was followed out of the casino by five security staff members.

He was restrained in a face down position,” Jones told CBS. “They then put him in a hog-tie position, like an animal, after Jonathan was compliant. No kicking, no thrashing. A knee goes in his back. When they turned Jonathan over after those two minutes with a knee in his back, he was gone.”

Jung’s sister, Vanessa Jung, committed suicide shortly after watching footage of her brother’s death.

Incomplete Picture

The coroner’s report didn’t identify any fatal trauma, concluding “there was no indication that the interaction with the security personnel contributed to the death beyond physical exertion, which had already began before direct contact with security personnel.”

The coroner also wrote that the security video “did not appear” to show that security personnel applied pressure to Jung’s back while he was on the ground.

Jones says Bell Gardens police failed to provide the coroner with the information that a guard had admitted pressing his knee into Jung’s back.

“Because the coroner had not received any other evidence about the manner in which the guards had restrained him, he had to conclude that this was what he called a negative autopsy, meaning, by process of elimination, it must be the meth,” Jones said.

Conflicting Accounts

The DA’s Office told CBS that it didn’t believe the guards had “stomped, struck or used body wait to hold defendant down,” which is why it didn’t prosecute. Within three minutes of falling to the ground, Jung began to vomit and was placed in the recovery position, according to the DA’s report. He stopped breathing four minutes later, it added.

Jung’s family disputes this version of events.

This allowed prosecutors to paint the deceased as a drug addict, which Jones believes influenced the jury’s verdict.

Jones and his team filed a motion for a retrial, which was denied. They are appealing that decision.

Since Jung’s death, the Bicycle has come under new ownership.