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4 arrests in Cambodian New Year gang shooting that left father dead
Father of 4 was visiting Modesto for Cambodian new year when slain By ROSALIO AHUMADA
Last updated: April 24, 2008 07:59:47 AM
A surge of tips from Modesto's Cambodian commu-nity helped a law enforcement task force find and arrest four people suspected in the shooting death of a 48-year-old Long Beach man who was hit by stray gangland gunfire last week.
Chanthol Ouk, a father of four sons and a former Modestan, was in west Modesto visiting friends for the Cambodian new year when he was shot. He was standing outside using his cell phone about 7:30 p.m. on April 13 when he was struck in the upper body by gunfire. He was taken to a hospital but died during surgery.
Modesto police homicide detectives Tuesday night arrested Sarath Prak, 18, on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and participating in criminal street gang, said Sgt. Craig Gundlach, a police spokesman.
Detectives said they believe Prak, of Modesto, was the gunman. Gundlach said Prak was charged with attempted murder because he was targeting other people when he shot, missing them but hitting Ouk, pronounced "oak."
The gunfire erupted during a fight between two groups of teens or young men arguing by a store on Chicago Avenue and Paradise Road, Gundlach said. When one group started to walk away, the other got into a small gold or tan vehicle and began shooting at them, police said.
Investigators said they believe the confrontation between the two groups was gang-related.
While serving 10 search warrants Tuesday and Wednesday, police also arrested a 17-year-old boy; Sophea Sam, 26; and Michael Sedra, 21, on suspicion of being an accessory to murder and participating in a criminal street gang, Gundlach said.
Detectives said they believe the three, who are Modesto residents, helped conceal evidence and aided Prak and Kao Phompong, 23, of Modesto in avoiding capture.
Authorities on Wednesday night said they were looking for Phompong. Police said they believe he was driving the car when Prak fired the fatal shot. Police said they suspect Phompong still may be driving the small gold or tan vehicle. Gund-lach said Phompong is wanted on suspicion of murder.
Prak is being held without bail. Sedra's bail is $35,000, and information was not available for Sam and the 17-year-old.
Ouk's friend Dottie Vath, 37, of Modesto, said she was relieved when she heard of the arrests.
"I feel better because it gets the people who are responsible for the shooting off the street," Vath said.
Funeral on Saturday
A funeral for Ouk has been scheduled for Saturday in Long Beach, she said.
Gundlach said the Cambodian community rallied to show support for the victim's family and turned to Modesto police officer Ra Pouv for help.
Pouv, who is of Cambodian descent, is assigned to the Modesto police street crimes unit and is an expert in Asian-American street gangs. Pouv has worked closely with the Cambodian community and began receiving information from community members about suspects.
"If members of the community had not come forward or had not felt comfortable talking to officer Pouv, we would probably still be at square one in this case," said Sgt. Scott Heller, who oversees Mo-desto's crimes against persons unit.
Heller said most gang-related cases are difficult to investigate, because people are reluctant to come forward.
"This case was different," Heller said. "Mothers, fathers, aunts and uncles, everyone started talking to each other and gave us information."
The investigation into Ouk's death was a perfect example of how a law enforcement effort can be spurred into action by neighbors who put their fear aside and provide information, said Modesto police Sgt. Rick Armendariz, who supervises the Central Valley Gang Impact Task Force.
"The Cambodian community stood up against these gang members," Armendariz said. "That's what we need in dealing with the issue of gangs. When you don't stand up to them, you're just empowering them."
The task force is a federally funded countywide group that has members from local law enforcement agencies and the FBI. The agency is a clearinghouse for gang information from around the area.
Armendariz said the task force assisted with the Ouk murder investigation in conducting surveillance, obtaining search warrants and providing street gang expertise to help homicide detectives piece together the puzzle.
He said the gang subculture is based on responding violently to threats, including those residents who provide information to law enforcement.
"They try to get that respect through fear," Armendariz said. "In this case, you had two gangs that were challenging each other. They need to respond when they're challenged. It's a violent cycle that law enforcement and the community have to break."
More than 70 law enforcement officials converged Tuesday morning to serve the search warrants including officials from Modesto police, Ceres police, the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department, Stanislaus County Probation Department, state parole and the FBI.
The Special Weapons and Tactics teams from Modesto, Ceres and the Sheriff's Department assisted in serving the search warrants.
Along with help from other agencies, Gundlach said they pulled together investigative resources within the Police Department to identify and track down the suspects.
"There was a lot of work to be done and there was a lot of information to follow up on," Gund-lach said. "When we get a lot of information flowing, as in this case, we're going to follow up on it."
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