Rape-Slaying Suspect Held After Gunfight

A suspect in the brutal rape and murder of a Fountain Valley woman two weeks ago was arrested Thursday evening in Springfield, Mo., after he allegedly shot and wounded a police officer in a downtown gunfight, police said.

Timmy Lee De Priest, 29, was captured after he emptied his .25-caliber revolver in a gunfight in an old-town area of that city, Springfield Police Lt. David Haun said. He was captured by other officers who tackled and subdued him.

Cpl. Larry Robinson recognized the suspect from a composite drawing given to officers during the afternoon briefing, Haun said. He chased the man for 15 blocks into an alley, where the suspect fired a revolver at least three times, hitting the officer once in the chest, Haun said. The bullet traveled through the officer’s chest and into his arm.

“He (Robinson) is not in a life-threatening situation,” Haun said.

Haun said De Priest is wanted by Garden Grove police in connection with the Dec. 17 death of 30-year-old Hong Thi Nguyen.

Nguyen, who was found naked and unconscious in a vacant lot near the Garden Grove bridal shop where she worked as a seamstress, was pronounced dead four hours later at Humana Hospital-Westminster. She had been shot once in the head with a small-caliber pistol.

The suspect was first spotted in Springfield several days ago when a car belonging to the Fountain Valley woman was involved in a chase with police, Haun said. Officers lost the Toyota MR2 during that pursuit, but the automobile was recovered near Springfield on Wednesday. Haun said De Priest had once lived in Springfield, adding: “He was not completely unknown around here.”

Garden Grove Police Lt. John Woods said the suspect had been driving Nguyen’s car and using her credit cards since the night of the murder. He said he assumed that the Springfield police did a composite drawing from descriptions given by store clerks where the suspect used the woman’s credit cards.

Next week, detectives from Garden Grove will go to Springfield to “examine the evidence” and ask the Orange County district attorney to begin extradition proceedings, Woods said.

The victim was married and the mother of an infant. Friends said she had lived here about a year. Neighbors said she was a kind, gentle lady. Another acquaintance said she was “very sweet and always smiling.”