MONTEREY PARK : Preliminary Hearing Set in Carjacking Death
A 16-year-old charged with killing a Monterey Park woman in a carjacking for an Asian gang faces a preliminary hearing March 3 on one count of first-degree murder.
Coung Minh Hoang is being tried as an adult in the April, 1993, murder of Kathy Lee May, 27.
Because of his age, Hoang cannot be sentenced to death if found guilty. The slaying occurred during a bungled carjacking in the parking lot of an Alhambra fabric store where Lee was buying fabric to make into a wedding dress.
Hoang could face 30 years to life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted of Lee’s murder, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Patrick Couwenberg.
Hoang’s attorney, Assistant Public Defender Alex Ricciardulli, declined to answer questions about the case.
Prosecutors have said Hoang had connections to Asian organized crime since his early teens. Hoang allegedly shot May while trying to steal her Lexus, which authorities say he planned to sell for $5,000 to settle gambling debts.
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