Santa Ana : Youth Pleads Guilty to Murdering Mother of 14

A teen-ager pleaded guilty Thursday to the first-degree murder of a Santa Ana mother of 14, who had been praying at her bedside when she was shot to death.

Dung Nguyen, 17, entered his plea in Superior Court in exchange for assurances that the district attorney’s office would recommend that he be sent to a California Youth Authority facility instead of a men’s state prison, Deputy Dist. Atty. Brent Romney said.

In exchange, Nguyen agreed to testify against the other suspects in the shooting, including Tien Van Nguyen, 19, according to Tien Van Nguyen’s attorney, Julian Bailey.

On May 5, five masked gunmen stormed the Santa Ana home of Trung Ngo and his wife, Huyen Thi Hoang. The gunmen robbed the home and rounded up family members and ordered them into the living room.

But Hoang, 46, who was in her bedroom, was shot to death.

“He (Dung Nguyen) was not the shooter,” Romney said, in explaining the deal. “He was not the mastermind and he has no prior background. We think he was just one of the tagalongs.”

Last July, Quoc Kien Ngo, 12, and Man Huynh, 13, both of Anaheim, admitted participating in the robbery and were convicted of first-degree murder in Juvenile Court after offering no defense.

They were sent to the California Youth Authority, where the average stay for juveniles convicted of murder is about six years.

Police are still searching for Sau Van Le, 14, of Garden Grove, who is accused of actually shooting the woman.

The lengthy preliminary hearing for Tien Van Nguyen also ended Thursday. He was held to answer to first-degree murder, robbery, burglary and auto theft charges, Bailey said.

He will be arraigned in Superior Court on Sept. 25.