Pryor and his accomplice, Kemo Mayerd, robbed nine Asian grocery stores 20 times over two months in 1998. Two owners were robbed five times apiece - one of them twice in one day.
Prosecutors remember the pair's spree as one of the most brazen examples of a disturbing phenomenon: serial criminals who prey on Asian merchants.
There are more recent examples.
A year ago, four Asian-owned shops in a six-block area of North Philadelphia were burglarized eight times over a three-week period. And in one eight-day spree in January, an armed robber picked off eight Asian-run dry cleaners in Northeast Philadelphia, raiding these businesses' cash registers as though they were his private ATMs.
Asian merchants make easy targets. These newcomers - mostly from South Korea, China and Southeast Asia - often run the cash-reliant neighborhood businesses so attractive to criminals. Their victimization, however, has had dramatic consequences: Some end up selling their stores, moving out of town, or arming themselves with guns.
John Yoo, the former president of the local chapter of the Korean American Grocers Association, said the number of Korean grocers in Philadelphia had fallen by about a third in the last four years, with crime being the number-one reason for selling out.
In the aftermath of Pryor and Mayerd's spree, three of the owners sold their businesses, including Lim.
"I get scared," said Lim, 41, a refugee from Cambodia who wants to buy a business outside the city. "We are not afraid to work hard. But we are afraid of danger."
Prosecutors in Philadelphia see only about one or two cases of serial robbery a year. Often, the targets are Asian merchants, which poses vexing cultural issues that make it hard for authorities to help victims.
Asian merchants, perhaps more so than other ethnic groups, are reluctant to turn to police. Many have arrived from countries where the police are feared, not trusted.
