Guilty Plea Set in Killing of Officer

Three years after rookie CHP Officer Don J. Burt was fatally shot during a routine traffic stop in Fullerton, an alleged gang leader agreed Friday to plead guilty to the murder in a deal with federal prosecutors.

Hung “Henry” Thanh Mai, 30, also admitted in Los Angeles federal court to plotting the murder of a witness in the case and trafficking a machine gun from his Orange County jail cell.

A judge sentenced him to 30 years in prison on those charges, and Orange County prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty for Mai when he pleads guilty to murder in the near future.

In exchange for the admissions, the U.S. attorney’s office agreed to recommend a lighter sentence against the defendant’s girlfriend, a Fountain Valley woman who was implicated in the witness murder scheme.

The agreement is likely to bring an early end to a murder case that stunned the county and prompted new state crime-fighting legislation.

Burt’s widow, Kristin, who was seven months pregnant when her husband was killed, expressed mixed emotions about Mai’s admissions of guilt and said she is trying to stay detached from the proceedings.

“The actual outcome of the trial is not going to make a difference to me because it doesn’t bring my husband back. There’s nothing that could happen to [Mai] that will equal what he did to my husband,” said Burt, 31, who was caring for her 2 1/2-year-old son Friday morning when the news came.

“To me, this case and the trial is not about me or my husband,” she added. “It was over for me and my husband and our family the day he was killed.”

Burt’s father, Don Sr., himself a retired CHP officer, attended the Los Angeles court hearing but left unsatisfied with the results. “He still shows no remorse for killing our son, and I doubt he ever will,” he said.

The shooting occurred on a Saturday night in July 1996 when Burt, 25 and one year out of the CHP academy, pulled over the driver of a BMW in a brightly lighted parking lot in Fullerton. Authorities say Mai shot Burt six times as the rookie attempted to impound the BMW.

With Burt down, Mai allegedly fired a seventh shot, sending a bullet through his left eye. About 35 diners at a nearby Coco’s restaurant watched the shooting in horror.

Mai, who allegedly operated an extensive forgery and fraud ring, then fled to Houston, according to authorities. He was eventually arrested after a friend tipped off police.

Investigators later discovered that Mai was running an elaborate distribution ring of counterfeit securities and illegal weapons out of his jail cell. They tapped pay phones at the jail, uncovering a paging and three-way-calling system that was used by Mai and his alleged accomplices in the gun scheme.

As part of the investigation, an undercover officer purchased a machine gun through Mai and brought it for inspection to the Santa Ana police shooting range. There, the gun accidentally discharged, killing range master Joseph Samuel Boyd.

The probe expanded when Mai allegedly solicited an undercover Santa Ana police officer to kill the Houston man who turned him in. Authorities later staged the intended victim’s murder and showed Mai pictures of the “dead” victim.

Killing, Murder Plot Admitted in Court

In a court appearance Friday, Mai admitted killing Burt and pleaded guilty to federal charges of masterminding the gun and murder schemes from behind bars. Aside from brief responses to the judge’s questions, Mai did not speak during the hearing.

His attorney did not return phone calls seeking comment. Prosecutors said Mai agreed to the plea agreement to spare his girlfriend a longer prison term. They say his fate will soon be in the hands of an Orange County jury.

“This brings closure to the federal case, and even the murder case, except for the penalty phase,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Greenberg. “It guarantees life without the possibility of parole. The only question that remains is if that will be the ultimate sentence, or the death penalty.”

Greenberg said the penalty phase on the murder charge will likely begin in June, after Mai pleads guilty to murder in Orange County Superior Court.

Until then, Mai will begin his 30-year term in federal prison. He will be unable to make phone calls, receive letters or communicate with other prisoners--unusual restrictions ordered because of Mai’s past record of running criminal enterprises from jail, Greenberg added.

Burt’s death unleashed an outpouring of support for his family. The city of Fullerton erected a memorial plaque in his honor. Last month, Assemblyman Ken Maddox (R-Garden Grove) announced plans to introduce a bill designed to crack down on computer counterfeiters by allowing for the permanent forfeiture of equipment used to forge money, checks, identification tags or government seals. He named the bill in Burt’s honor.

Members of Burt’s family said they will continue to follow the penalty phase of the trial and they hope Mai is put to death.

“However the legal system chooses to handle this, I have trust in it,” Kristin Burt said. “It is up to people in a jury to decide what he should pay, and I will support whatever they choose. My own personal belief is that he deserves the death penalty but whatever does happen, as long as he doesn’t hurt anybody else, it doesn’t matter to me.”