Man, 29, surrenders in AK-47 shooting of West Philly beer deli owner

A 29-year-old man accused of shooting and critically injuring a West Philadelphia beer deli owner with an AK-47 assault-style rifle two months ago has turned himself in to police, authorities said Monday.

Jovaun Patterson of the 5400 block of Delancey Street in West Philadelphia is in custody and faces charges of attempted murder, attempted robbery, aggravated assault, and related offenses, Lt. John Walker of Southwest Detectives said.

Patterson was arraigned and held on $500,000 bail.

Patterson is accused of approaching Mike Poeng outside his store at 54th and Spruce Streets about 1:30 p.m. May 5 during an attempted robbery.

Poeng had been washing his car outside his store, KCJ Inc., when Patterson allegedly tried to push him into the store in an attempt to rob it while Poeng's wife and sons were inside, police said. The store's outdoor surveillance video showed the gunman punching Poeng, who fought back — even spraying his attacker with his water hose — before he was shot in the right hip.

Poeng, 50, was released last week from Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and is in a rehab facility, his brother Thai Poeng, 57, said Monday.

The brother said he was grateful to doctors and nurses at the hospital for saving Mike Poeng's life and to police for their investigative work. Of the arrest, he said: "Obviously, it's a tremendous relief to us."

Walker said an arrest warrant was issued Saturday for Patterson, and he turned himself in Sunday at the Southwest Detective Division at 55th and Pine Streets.

The AK-47 has not been recovered, Walker said.

The Poengs and other members of their family, who are of Chinese descent, came to the United States in 1981 as refugees after they had survived Cambodia's killing fields, a period from 1975 to 1979 when as many as two million people died of starvation and disease or were murdered under dictator Pol Pot.