Trial Begins for Youth Accused of Murder in Death of Mother of 14

Despite Tien Van Nguyen’s taped confession that he participated in a robbery in which a Vietnamese mother of 14 was killed last May, his attorney said Tuesday there is no proof linking the youth to the crime.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Jill W. Roberts, however, said the confession was legally obtained and would be played for the Superior Court jury.

During opening arguments in Nguyen’s jury trial for murder, which began in a Santa Ana courtroom Tuesday, Roberts said the evidence will show that Nguyen and four others crouched outside a Huron Drive home late at night after planning the robbery, stealing two cars during the day, arming themselves with guns and masking themselves with scarfs and T-shirts pulled up over their mouths.

Nguyen and three other youths were arrested and charged with first-degree murder after the Santa Ana shooting. Two of the four, ages 12 and 13, were convicted last July and are serving sentences in the California Youth Authority. The fourth, Dung Nguyen, 17, pleaded guilty in September in exchange for being sentenced to the California Youth Authority rather than state prison.

5th Suspect at Large

A fifth suspect, 14-year-old Sau Van Le, is believed by authorities to have shot and killed Huen Thi Hoang, 46. Le has not been arrested, but Roberts said outside the courtroom Tuesday that she believes he “will be caught.”

Nguyen’s attorney told jurors there was no proof that his client was connected to the robbery and murder.

Nguyen surprised the murder victim’s daughter, Kim Ngo, when she arrived home, held a gun to her head and marched her up to the door, Roberts said in her opening statement.

Ngo, who was the first witness to take the stand Tuesday, testified that the men discussed holding her outside during the robbery, and one of them allegedly said, “If there’s any trouble inside, kill the girl.” But Ngo testified that she does not know who made the statement. She said her attackers decided to take her inside.

When the door was opened, Le and the others rushed in, and Nguyen herded the family “like cattle” into the living room, Roberts said. While four youths stayed in the living room and kitchen, Le allegedly searched other rooms in the home and discovered Hoang in a back bedroom.

Woman Found Dead

“A shot rang out. The gunman then fled from the bedroom and shouted out to his companions ‘Let’s get out of here,’ ” Roberts told jurors. Paramedics and police were called, but when they arrived Hoang was found dead of a single bullet wound that pierced her arm and chest.

Attorney Julian W. Bailey, who is defending Nguyen, said Tuesday in his opening statement that the confession was obtained only after Santa Ana police had kept Nguyen handcuffed to a wall without any communication for some time at police headquarters. Police then told the young Garden Grove resident, whose age is in dispute, that he had been identified as the man who shot and killed Hoang, Bailey said.

“It was certainly obtained under questionable circumstances,” Bailey said, adding that the police statement to Nguyen that he had been identified as the shooter was “a bald-faced lie and the investigator has admitted as much.”

Bailey argued that Nguyen was thereby frightened into confessing, and police “were putting words into my client’s mouth.” He said Nguyen was able to provide details of the incident because it had been a much-discussed topic in the county’s Vietnamese community for weeks.

The trial was preceded by hearings that failed to determine Nguyen’s correct age but resulted in rulings that he be tried as an adult. Bailey, who would prefer to see Nguyen’s case tried in Juvenile Court, contended that his client is 14. Roberts said he is “19 or 20.”

Vietnamese government officials have declined to provide information that would conclusively prove the youth’s age. But Bailey said his green card (alien registration) indicates he is 14. If he is convicted, Bailey said the age issue will probably go to the state Court of Appeal.