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Six people, including three juveniles, were indicted in the killing of a Vietnamese market owner who was shot, allegedly to prevent him from testifying against the man accused of robbing his store, reports the San Francisco Chronicle here.

Tong Van Le, 44 (pictured), owner of the Nasser Market in San Francisco, was killed in September of last year, shot twice in the head with a rifle around 10:30 pm in his Lexus in the garage of his house in Novato, north of the city.

He had barely gotten home. His car’s engine was still running and the tail lights were still on when police, responding to neighbors’ 911 calls, arrived at the home.

It was the first killing in Novata in three years.

His wife and two children, 6 and 7 years old, were in the house but slept through the shooting.

The couple would have celebrated their 10th anniversary in December, said the Chronicle in its story published at that time, here.

Two weeks before his killing, Le’s store had been robbed. Le filed a police report but at the time had not heard anything yet.

Suspicion that the killing may be related to Le as a potential witness arose almost immediately. The Chronicle here quoted “sources close to the investigation” as saying police are focusing on whether Le’s report of the robbery led to his death.

Subsequent development appears to bear out that theory. Among the six suspects named in the murder case is the man suspected of the original robbery, Larry Brian Blay Jr., 19.

Blay had been under arrest on an unrelated crime at the time of the shooting and robbery charges against him were dropped.

However, prosecutors accuse Blay of phoning out from jail and ordered Le’s murder. Allegedly, Blay called an associate and told her to relay an order to his brother Deandre Blay, 17, to “handle” Le, reports the Marin Independent Journal here.

“You understand what I am saying when I say handle that right?” Blay allegedly said. “I need that done, he can’t come to court, tell him to handle that fast before my next court date.”

Both brothers Blay have been indicted, together with Sean Demetrius Washington, 23; Anchulita Germaine Uribe, 34; and two other 17-year-olds, Kevin Abram and Uribe’s son, C. Autis Johnson Jr.

Uribe is charged with being an accessory after the fact, though the indictment does not specify what she did; the rest have been charged with murder, conspiracy and witness intimidation.

The two male adults are also accused of special circumstances - lying in wait and killing a witness, each of which could bring a death penalty. Prosecutors, however, say that they have not yet decided whether to ask for the capital punishment.

The 17-year-olds do not face the death penalty because they were juveniles at the time of the crime.

All suspects except one are in custody. Still at large is Johnson (picture right) - allegedly also known as “Julio” and “Ju Banga” - and he is subject of a statewide manhunt.

The Marin Independent Journal here reveals that Le’s neighbors had established a memorial fund for Le’s wife and children. Donations can be made to the Le Family Fund, payable to Phan Nguyen (his wife’s name), Account No. 04121752, c/o Bank of Marin, 368 Ignacio Blvd., Novato 94949; or at any Bank of Marin branch.

 

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UPDATE: C. Autis Johnson is now in custody. He was found and arrested in San Francisco on July 28, reports KGO-TV here.

 

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Tags: Viet victim

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 at 11:50 pm and is filed under crime. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.