Vietnamese Gang Members Get Lengthy Terms for Home Robberies
Three Vietnamese gang members were sentenced in Pomona Superior Court on Friday to long prison terms for a series of home-invasion robberies in the San Gabriel Valley last year.
An Nguyen, 21, the alleged ringleader, was sentenced by Judge Theodore Piatt to 53 years in state prison. Vu Nguyen, 21 and Vinh Tran, 22, each received 16 years.
Piatt said the severe sentences reflected the brutality of the crimes, which targeted Asian families, especially the elderly and children. A fourth defendant, Tri Vuong, who was 17 at the time of the crimes, will be sentenced March 13.
During the non-jury trial, authorities said the young men, members of a gang called V-Boys, participated in up to 100 home invasions. Since their arrest, fewer than a dozen home invasions have been reported to three sheriff’s substations in the San Gabriel Valley, authorities said.
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