Mastermind in Chinatown Case Escapes Death

The reputed mastermind of a Chinatown jewelry store holdup was spared a possible death sentence today when jurors convicted him of second-degree murder for killing a police officer during a wild shoot-out.

A prosecutor, who had asked for a first-degree murder conviction, complained outside of court that defendant Hau Cheong Chan “got away with murder.” Deputy Dist. Atty. Larry Longo said he did not understand the verdict. “I’m very disappointed,” he said.

Chan, 32, of Alhambra, was convicted of killing Los Angeles Police Officer Duane Johnson. He also was convicted of attempting to murder Johnson’s partner, Officer Archie Nagao, and the storekeeper’s son during the robbery of the Jin Hing Jade Jewelry and Antiques Store on Dec. 19, 1984.

Accused as Mastermind

Prosecutors argued that Chan brought together the four members of the robbery team, plotted their movements and even cased the jewelry store a few days before the crime. But Chan’s attorney, Leslie Abramson, contended that he had not shot anyone and had been outside in a getaway car when the gunfire erupted.

Two of Chan’s accomplices were killed in a gun battle that broke out when the two police officers, responding to an alarm, walked into the jewelry store during the holdup.

Jurors acquitted Chan of the murders of the two accomplices. He is scheduled to be sentenced May 27. He faces 15 years to life in state prison for the second-degree murder conviction.

His co-defendant, Sang Nam Chinh, 22, was convicted in February of Johnson’s murder and Nagao’s attempted murder. The jury in Chinh’s case recommended life in prison without parole.