Councilman Faces Petty Theft Charge After Allegedly Leaving Store With Groceries

A Walnut city councilman is facing a charge of petty theft after he allegedly left a Diamond Bar grocery store last month with groceries he failed to pay for and was stopped by store security guards.

Joaquin Lim, 46, a first-term council member, has pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charge stemming from the April 24 incident. He has requested that he be allowed to enter a special court program under which the charge would be dropped if he makes regular visits to a probation officer, his attorney said last week.

But Deputy Dist. Atty. Larry Larson said he opposed such a move at Lim’s arraignment because the councilman has refused to acknowledge taking the $27 worth of groceries.

“I would like a trial on this so the facts can come out,� Larson said.

Pomona Municipal Judge Thomas Peterson will rule on Lim’s request at a June 4 pretrial hearing. If found guilty, Lim would face up to six months in jail and a possible fine.

“This case will be hotly contested,� said Antonio Bestard, Lim’s attorney.

Lim has characterized the incident as a misunderstanding, saying he pushed a shopping cart of food out of the Albertson’s market because he needed to use a public telephone to return calls to his pager, according to a published report.

The prosecutor said that statement is not consistent with a Sheriff’s Department investigation. “He wasn’t going for the phones,� Larson said.

News of the incident has rippled through this quiet and prosperous city of 29,000, where Lim has served on the council since November 1995.

Mayor William T. Choctaw said that shortly after Lim’s arrest, the City Council scheduled an emergency closed session on a Saturday morning at the councilman’s request so he could discuss the incident with his colleagues. But when council members arrived, the meeting was canceled after the city attorney said such a discussion could only happen in public, Choctaw said.

Meanwhile, Lim’s supporters have in recent weeks taken to praising his work in the community during council meetings.