Pair Get 11 Years for Kidnapping

A man and woman were sentenced Friday to 11 years in prison for kidnapping a 4-year-old boy from outside his Alhambra home in a crime that the prosecutor said was committed by such amateurs that they forgot to leave the ransom note.

Pasadena Superior Court Judge Janice Croft imposed the sentences on Christopher Philip Martin, 21, and Linda Thi Nguyen, 19, for the December 1999 abduction of William Phang. The defendants, along with Hang Thi “Kelly” Dinh, last month agreed to plead no contest to the kidnapping charge that could have carried a life sentence. Dinh’s sentencing has been postponed until Tuesday because of sickness, Deputy Dist. Atty. Albert H. MacKenzie said.

Dinh was baby-sitting the boy Dec. 15, 1999, when she arranged for Martin and Nguyen to grab him, MacKenzie said. Initially, she told authorities the boy had been taken, but after two days she admitted to investigators that she was involved in the kidnapping and led Alhambra police to an El Monte motel.

The child was found unharmed, along with Nguyen. Martin was arrested the next day. MacKenzie said police discovered a ransom note at the motel that the three had forgotten to leave at the boy’s home.