Jury Recommends Death for Hate Crime

In a rare capital murder case involving a hate crime, a jury Thursday recommended the death penalty for a 22-year-old Tustin man who randomly chose a victim to knife and rob, based on the color of the victim’s skin.

The jury’s decision culminated a four-week trial that centered on the disturbing and graphic details of the killing of a young Vietnamese honor student. Thien Minh Ly and Gunner Lindberg, the leader of a fledgling white supremacist gang, crossed paths on an unlit tennis court one night, a chance encounter that ended in murder.

Lindberg showed no emotion as the jury of nine women and three men recommended that he receive the death penalty for slashing to death Ly, 24, as the victim was in-line skating at Tustin High School in January 1996.

The panel’s decision was hailed by the prosecution and human rights leaders as a powerful message against racial violence. But it brought little solace to the family of the victim, who was a former president of the UCLA Vietnamese Student Assn.

“If this is the worst sentence society can impose on him, then he deserves it,” Ly’s mother, Dao Huynh, said outside court. “But this does not mean it is justice for my family. It will never be justice for us. He could die a million times and it will not be able to make up for the death of our son.”

One juror said the panel took several votes during three days of deliberations and emotions ran high at times.

“It was a very, very difficult decision,” said the juror, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The juror said that the panel eventually was swayed by the brutality of the crime.

“The verdict did not come easy,” the juror said. “There was lots of emotion. But we did come up with a verdict, and we will stand behind it. It was a just verdict.”

The juror said the fact that the defendant and the victim were about the same age and had chosen such different paths in life was not lost on the panel.

“It was almost like good versus evil,” the juror said. “The victim’s mom and dad wanted the very best for their family, and the defendant chose another path at an early age for whatever reason.”

Ly was a recent graduate of Georgetown University and was visiting his family’s Tustin home when he was confronted by Lindberg. The victim was stabbed more than 50 times, including 14 wounds to the heart.

The defendant, an outspoken white supremacist, later bragged about enjoying the crime in a rambling letter in which he wrote: “I killed a Jap.”

Lindberg was convicted by the same jury last month of first-degree murder and “special circumstance” allegations that the killing took place during a robbery and while committing a hate crime, charges that made him eligible for the death penalty.

The defendant’s friend, 18-year-old Domenic M. Christopher, was convicted of first-degree murder in April for his role in the killing and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Lindberg will be formally sentenced Dec. 12.

Although specific numbers were not available, the California District Attorneys Assn. said Wednesday’s verdict was extraordinary.

“It’s very rare that we see a death verdict returned based on the special circumstance of a hate crime,” said Larry Brown, the association’s executive director.