Guilty Plea in Slaying Is Linked to Harris Execution

A man charged with murdering an El Cajon liquor store owner changed his plea Thursday to guilty because of the execution of Robert Alton Harris.

Hai Van Nguyen, 19, of Garden Grove pleaded guilty in Superior Court to all of the charges against him--first-degree murder, attempted murder and robbery--as part of an agreement in which the prosecutor will not seek the death penalty against him.

Nguyen’s defense attorney, Michael Popkins, said the execution of Harris on Tuesday made his client more fearful that he could face death as a result of his crimes and led him to change his plea.

Nguyen is charged with the Aug. 18 fatal shooting of Iraqi-born Thamir (Tom) Mikhael, 31, owner of the Deliquery Market in El Cajon, and the wounding of his nephew David Wartan, 18, an employee.

Popkins said the evidence against his client was strong.

“This was the best we could do even if we went to trial with the not-guilty plea,” Popkins said.

In return for the change of plea, prosecutors are seeking a sentence of life without the possibility of parole.

El Cajon Police Lt. Bob Lein said in an earlier interview that Nguyen is believed to have been a member of a criminal network that specializes in theft and violence.

Wartan told the court during a preliminary hearing in November that he reported to work at the delicatessen about 30 minutes before the incident. He testified that his uncle uttered an obscenity and that, as he turned to look in his uncle’s direction, a gunshot was fired. Wartan said Nguyen turned and shot him in the chest, then shot Mikhael two more times before fleeing.

Wartan admitted during the preliminary hearing that he lied when he identified an innocent person in a police lineup. He said he feared retaliation from the defendant or from other gang members.

A second man, Tin Trung Ngo, 19, of Westminster, was arrested in connection with the case and is awaiting trial. A third suspect, Dung Hung Lyn, 24, of Garden Grove, is in prison on unrelated parole violations. Lyn has not yet been charged in the liquor store case.