Fountain Valley Man Gets Life for Gang Murder

A 37-year-old Fountain Valley man was sentenced Friday to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus 67 years to life, for the execution-style murder of a fellow gang member nearly two decades ago in Costa Mesa.

Giang Thuy Nguyen was convicted along with three other defendants in April of last year.

After spending most of the day listening to arguments from Nguyen's attorney, Joanne Harrold, Orange County Superior Court Judge Patrick Donahue denied Nguyen's motion for a new trial.

Harrold argued there was no evidence "directly tying (Nguyen) to the crime." He also claimed juror misconduct and cited rulings during the trial he argued were biased in favor of the prosecution.

Donahue disagreed.

"The defendant received a full, fair and impartial trial," the judge said.

Nguyen received the longest sentence because he had a prior strike for residential burglary in February 1995.

In June, co-defendant Truc Ngoc Tran, 35, of Santa Ana, was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

In January, Donahue sentenced co-defendant Tam Hung Nguyen, who prosecutors say was the trigger man, to life in prison without parole, and tacked on 45 years to life in prison for conspiracy to commit murder.

Co-defendant Anthony Paul Johnson Jr., 37, of Westminster, was sentenced in August of last year to life behind bars without the possibility of parole, plus 10 years.

The victim, 18-year-old Viet Nguyen, was killed Feb. 25, 1995, on the northbound Corona Del Mar (73) Freeway near the San Diego (405) Freeway, Deputy District Attorney Kevin Haskins said.

The victim's cousin, Tuyet-Van Tran, read aloud a letter to the judge from Viet Nguyen's parents, Harry and Lisa.

The victim was an "exceptional" student, who "thrived" at basketball and was "well-loved" by friends, his parents said.

When they were told of their son's death, "We kept asking who could have done such a horrific thing," they said. "We have never stopped thinking of him and his infectious smile."

After the hearing, Tuyet-Van Tran, told Haskins that the day-long hearing was a "culmination" of the case that took years to be litigated.

Tam Nguyen's attorney, Michael Khouri, argued during the trial that Tam Nguyen wasn't present for the murder and alleged that the killer was the prosecution's star witness, Ngoc Nguyen.

The case went cold until 2006 when investigators started re-interviewing potential witnesses, including Ngoc Nguyen, who invoked his Fifth Amendment rights before a grand jury but was forced to testify under immunity, Haskins said.

Haskins chiefly built his case against the defendants on the testimony of Ngoc Nguyen, who was along for the ride the night the victim was slain. Investigators do not think he knew of the plot to kill the young man and was not charged.

Viet Nguyen was in trouble with the gang for running out on a home invasion robbery on Feb. 24, 1995, Haskins said. That morning, Johnson, Giang Nguyen and Viet Nguyen donned masks and went to rob the Huntington Beach home of a classmate of Viet Nguyen's, the prosecutor said.

"The murder victim made eye contact with the mother during the robbery and he mistakenly believed she recognized him, so he fled," Haskins said, noting the others got away with just a modest amount of money.

Investigators believe Johnson and Giang Nguyen were concerned that Viet Nguyen would get arrested.

When the three went to a party that night, Johnson persuaded Viet Nguyen to leave with them to buy drugs, Haskins said. During the drive, Tam Nguyen pretended to get car-sick and asked the victim to pull over, then shot him in the back of the head, Haskins said.

The group left him in his van and Tran, who was trailing behind in a car, picked up the rest of the defendants, Haskins said.

Investigators trusted Ngoc Nguyen's account because he knew details of the home invasion that weren't public and other evidence was corroborated by other means, the prosecutor said.

-- From City News Service