Gang Member Convicted in Fatal ’94 Shooting at Westminster Cafe

A gang member was convicted Thursday of first-degree murder and other felonies stemming from a 1994 shooting at a Westminster cafe that killed one man, paralyzed a teen and injured two women.

Binh Huynh, 20, was also convicted of participating in an unrelated home-invasion robbery in Fountain Valley less than a month after the March 26, 1994, attack at Cafe Mozart in Little Saigon.

Huynh faces at least two life prison terms when he is sentenced July 12. The Hawthorne resident, who was 17 at the time of his arrest, was tried as an adult.

Prosecutors alleged that Huynh was among at least two men who walked into the crowded Cafe Mozart and sprayed the coffeehouse with bullets. Le Quang Nguyen, 20, died of multiple gunshot wounds in what police said was a confrontation between rival gangs. A 16-year-old boy was paralyzed, and two women were slightly injured.

About a month later, Huynh was one of two people arrested after police traced a 911 call from a Fountain Valley residence during a home-invasion robbery. He was later identified as an escapee from a correctional facility.

In addition to murder, the Orange County Superior Court jury found the defendant guilty of numerous other felonies, including attempted murder, mayhem, robbery and committing crimes for the benefit of a street gang.