Pair Convicted in Fatal Drive-By Shooting
After deliberating for 10 hours, a jury Monday convicted two men of murdering one Santa Ana youngster and wounding a second during a drive-by shooting last August.
The two defendants--Minh Nguyen, 20, and Thien Nguyen, 30--face sentences of 28 years to life on the first-degree murder conviction and another possible life sentence on the attempted murder conviction. They will be sentenced July 12.
“I’m very pleased with the verdict,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Lew Rosenblum, who prosecuted the case. “I will be seeking the maximum sentences.”
According to Rosenblum, the two men had driven to Santa Ana on the night of Aug. 14 to buy drugs. Once there, a group of youths threw bottles at their truck.
The two defendants, who share a last name but are not related, left and returned with guns, Rosenblum said. They fired into the crowd, killing Pedro Hernandez, 14, and wounding David Sanchez, 14.
Neither of the youngsters had been among those who threw the beer bottles.
“They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Rosenblum said.
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