Fountain Valley Man Convicted in Westminster Murder Case

A jury needed just two hours of deliberations today to convict a 19-year-old Fountain Valley man of murder in the death of a woman who was dragged for several blocks while hanging on to the defendant's car following a robbery.

Christopher Dai-Ichi Yu faces up to life in prison without the possibility of parole for his convictions for first-degree murder with the special circumstance of committing it during a robbery, attempted murder and street terrorism.

The jury also found true sentencing enhancements for committing the murder to benefit the defendant's street gang and shooting a gun. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 5, said Farrah Emami of the the Orange County District Attorney's Office.

The trial for co-defendant Lynn Ai Quach is scheduled to begin Oct. 31. According to prosecutors, Yu and Quach arranged to meet 38-year-old Tuyet Thi Huynh to sell her drugs March 27, 2010, but they intended to rob her instead. The three met about 11:30 p.m. in a parking lot at Russell Paris Park in Westminster with Huynh's boyfriend, Truong Pham waiting for her in his car, according to prosecutors.

When Yu grabbed the victim's cash her purse became tangled up on the Honda Civic Yu and Quach were in, according to prosecutors. Huynh's arm was tangled in the purse and she was dragged as Quach, who was driving, punched the accelerator, Emami said. Huynh was dragged for almost a mile, prosecutors said.

Pham gave chase in his car, shooting at Yu and Quach, according to prosecutors. An Orange County sheriff's deputy saw the chase and stopped Yu and Quach. Huynh was pronounced dead at a hospital just after 2 a.m. on March 28, 2010.

Defense attorney Kevin Gallagher unsuccessfully argued that it wasn't a robbery, but it was theft by deception. He also tried to argue his client was not guilty of attempted murder on the boyfriend because Yu was acting in self- defense.

-- City News Service