Gang killed fellow member after he fled robbery, prosecutors say
Paloma Esquivel (Los Angeles Times) | March 7, 2012
The trial of four alleged gang members who prosecutors said killed a fellow gang member in 1995 in retaliation for abandoning them during a robbery is expected to begin Thursday.
The alleged members of Viets for Life, Anthony Paul Johnson, 35, Giang Thuy Nguyen, 36, Tam Hung Nguyen, 36, and Truc Ngoc Tran, 34, are each charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder and if convicted face life in prison without the possibility of parole, prosecutors said.
According to prosecutors Johnson, known as “whiteboy,” Giang Nguyen, known as “yang” and Viet Nguyen, forced their way into the Huntington Beach home of a classmate of Viet Nguyen’s to rob it in February 1995. At some point, Viet Nguyen fled, believing he had been recognized by someone in the home.
Later that day, the defendants met and plotted to kill Viet Nguyen for leaving and to prevent him from implicating others, prosecutors said.
The next day, Johnson and Giang Nguyen convinced Viet Nguyen to drive to Costa Mesa with Tam Nguyen, who was called “dopeman,” to buy drugs. Truc Tran followed behind in a separate car, prosecutors said.
Read more at: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/03/gang-killed-fellow-member-after-he-fled-robbery-prosecutors-say.html
Photo credit: Orange County district attorney’s office
Tags: Anthony Paul Johnson, gang abandonment, Giang Thuy Nguyen, retaliation murder, Tam Hung Nguyen, Truc Ngoc Tran, Viets for Life
Posted by Lora
on Mar 7 2012. Filed under News.
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