1 Convicted, 1 Acquitted in Kidnapping
A Los Angeles Superior Court jury convicted one man and acquitted another Monday in the kidnapping of a 3-year-old San Marino boy last year.
After 1 1/2 days of deliberation, the jury found Lung Ly, 24, of Monterey Park guilty of seven charges of conspiracy, assault, residential burglary and other charges related to the kidnapping of Ernest Chan from the $1-million home of a wealthy couple. Prosecutors alleged that he and co-conspirators sought a $1.5-million ransom.
Ly faces life in prison without the possibility of parole when he returns for sentencing July 19.
A co-defendant, Paul Thim, 17, was found not guilty.
Another jury is deliberating on the fate of Kei Chang, 31. Trial for a fourth defendant is pending, while two others have been sentenced to six years in prison after pleading guilty. Sentencing is pending for a seventh defendant.
The boy was kidnapped from the family home on March 20, 2000, after two masked intruders, armed with knives, broke into the home and tied up a housekeeper. She freed herself and called police. The boy was found unharmed two weeks later in an apartment on Duarte Avenue in southeast Los Angeles.
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