| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 28, 2008 WWW.USDOJ.GOV/USAO/CAN |
SAN JOSE – United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced that on Wednesday, February 27, 2008, United States District Court Judge Jeremy Fogel sentenced Duc Dien Tran Nguyen to 12 years, nine months in prison for robbery and use of a firearm during a crime of violence.
Nguyen, 37, was indicted by a federal grand jury in July 2004, and charged with robbery, in violation of Title 18 United States Code section 1951(a), and use of a firearm during a crime of violence, in violation of Title 18 United States Code sections 924(c). On August 31, 2007, Nguyen pled guilty to both counts.
In pleading guilty, Nguyen admitted to participating in the robbery of Chong Hing Jewelers in Milpitas, California in July 19, 1999. In entering his plea, Nguyen admitted to the following facts concerning this incident:
On July 19, 1999, Nguyen, along with Anh The Duong and others, robbed Chong Hing Jewelers in Milpitas, California. Nguyen and Duong entered Chong Hing Jewelers wearing masks and carrying weapons. Duong carried a long rifle and took control of the security guard, while Nguyen carried a semiautomatic handgun, used keys to open the jewelry case containing expensive watches, and took approximately 100 watches valued at over $2,000,000.00. The two also took the security guard’s pistol during the course of the robbery.
This robbery is part of a larger indictment charging Duong and others with multiple robberies and murders committed in northern and southern California and Las Vegas, Nevada, over an eight year period, from 1993 to 2001. Duong is alleged to have committed each of the murders, and the government is seeking the death penalty against him. Several other defendants have previously pled guilty and are facing up to life imprisonment. Two indicted individuals remain fugitives. All other defendants are in custody.
James T. Chou and Shawna Yen are the Assistant U.S. Attorneys who are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Brenda Hodgen, Tracey Andersen, and Kimberly Hopkins. Special Agent Blake Wirth of the Federal Bureau of Investigation is the lead agent in this case. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Milpitas Police Department, Fremont Police Department, Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office, Fountain Valley Police Department, Garden Grove Police Department, Costa Mesa Police Department, Newport Beach Police Department, Santa Ana Police Department, and the Las Vegas Police Department.
Further Information:
Case #: CR 01-20154 JF
A copy of this press release may be found on the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s website at www.usdoj.gov/usao/can.
Electronic court filings and further procedural and docket information are available at https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
Judges’ calendars with schedules for upcoming court hearings can be viewed on the court’s website at www.cand.uscourts.gov.
All press inquiries to the U.S. Attorney’s Office should be directed to Joshua Eaton at (415) 436-6958 or by email at Josh.Eaton@usdoj.gov.