Man Convicted of Lesser Counts in 2 Gun Deaths

A former South Vietnamese marine lieutenant, charged with first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of two young men outside a Westminster liquor store in February, was found guilty Tuesday of the lesser charges of voluntary and involuntary manslaughter.

The defense attorney argued that Cuong M. Cao, 38, who was the “equivalent of a Green Beret in South Vietnam,” first shot the young men in self-defense. Then “post-war trauma stress syndrome” caused him to fire more rounds into their heads, Cao’s attorney, Jeff Gray, said.

“When a person learns to deal with an extremely stressful situation in a certain manner--in this case fear of great bodily injury or death--later (when a similar situation occurs again) his unconscious takes over and he reacts the same way he was taught,” Gray said after Tuesday’s jury verdict in Superior Court in Santa Ana.

Alleged Racial Slurs

Cao was on trial for the murders of Denny Wayne Spradlin, 20, of Fountain Valley and Joe Steven Wilson, 21, of Westminster. The two were shot Feb. 13 outside the Wine, Stein & Barrel liquor store after Spradlin reportedly hurled racial slurs at Cao and his Vietnamese friends.

Gray said Cao, of Santa Clara, was in Westminster that weekend to visit friends, many of whom he had not seen since the Vietnam War. After dinner, they went to the liquor store where they were confronted by Spradlin and Wilson.

Gray said the two young men taunted and insulted the Vietnamese and tried to block the exit so that Cao and the others could not leave. One of Cao’s friends went to his car and got a gun, Gray said, while Spradlin continued to taunt the Vietnamese.

When Wilson saw the gun, he brandished a long, black metal object--later identified as an 18-inch flashlight. Cao, who thought the two men were armed, grabbed his friend’s gun and shot them in the chest, Gray said.

Then he walked over to Wilson and shot him once more in the head, and shot Spradlin twice in the head.

The prosecutor had contended that the firing of extra shots was grounds for first-degree murder and sought life imprisonment without possibility of parole, Gray said. Prosecutor Richard Toohey could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Sentencing is set for Dec. 2. Cao could face up to 15 years in prison, but Gray said he will argue for probation or a lighter sentence.