Gang Members Sentenced in Teen Party Slayings
Saying people have a right to be safe in their homes, a judge Tuesday sentenced one gang member to life in prison without parole and two others to lengthy terms behind bars for the slaying of two teenagers at a 1994 graduation party at a house.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge J. D. Smith sentenced Ung Bang, 19, to life without the possibility of parole in the shooting deaths.
Vi Quoc Chau, 24, was sentenced to 52 years to life in prison, and Cuong Phan, 21, was ordered to serve 32 years to life in prison. In June, Bang and Chau were convicted of first-degree murder and Phan was convicted of second-degree murder for their roles in the shooting, in which they crashed a party seeking to avenge a fellow Asian Boyz gang member killed a year before.
In a crime that outraged the community, David Hang, 15, and Dennis Buan, 18, died as they watched television with a large group of people at the party. Seven others were also injured in the attack. No rival gang members were identified as being at the party.
Smith dismissed arguments by defense attorneys that neither Chau nor Bang actually fired the semiautomatic rifle.
In June, another participant in the slayings, Don Sam Hac, 21, was convicted of first-degree murder.
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