It was supposed to be just a drug deal, Harsh Thakkar told police.
Thakkar, 20, of Elkridge, told officers he intended to buy a “large quantity” of drugs from two men known as “Raymond Ko” and “C-Man” in the parking lot of a Bennigan?s restaurant in Columbia in December.
But the alleged deal turned ugly, and Thakkar was shot, paralyzing him from the waist down, according to charging documents.
Now, two men charged in Thakkar?s shooting ? Jonathan Kim, 19, of Ellicott City, and Raymond Ko Kang, 19, of Woodstock ? will be in Howard County Circuit Court on Wednesday for a criminal motions hearing, when admissible evidence and trial scheduling is usually determined. Kim?s Rockville attorney, Jennifer Page, said her client was not the gunman in the incident, but declined further comment. Kang?s Columbia attorney, Clarke Ahlers, also declined comment.
Police said they responded at 6:30 p.m. to the shooting in the parking lot of the Bennigan?s restaurant in the 8200 block of Snowden River Parkway in Columbia. Once there, officers found Thakkar in his vehicle with a gunshot injury to his torso. Police said the wound was not life-threatening.
Thakkar told police that two men robbed him of cash, shot him and fled in a black Hyundai Tiburon.
Kang and Kim are detained at the Howard County Detention Center.
