3 Chinese Nationals Held in Restaurant Extortion
Three Chinese nationals have been arrested on suspicion of extorting money from restaurants in Chinatown, officials said Friday.
Quang Yan Quan, 18, and Du Hong Trinh, 19, who have been living recently in the San Gabriel Valley, are being held without bail for allegedly trying to extort money from 13 restaurateurs, saying that harm would come to their businesses if they refused, said Los Angeles Police Detective Ben Lee.
A third suspect who is 16 was being held at a juvenile detention facility, Lee said.
The restaurateurs notified police Tuesday that they were getting threatening phone calls. On Thursday, police arrested the men, who had been driving around in a sports car, calling the restaurants from a cellular phone, Lee said.
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