08:39 AM CDT on Wednesday, July 9, 2008
By SCOTT GOLDSTEIN / The Dallas Morning News
sgoldstein@dallasnews.com
A man accused of shooting at men, women and children he never met during a three-day rampage last week will be charged with hate crimes after telling investigators he was targeting specific ethnic groups.
Thai-An Huu Nguyen Thai-An Huu Nguyen, 22, said he shot at motorists he thought were Asian or Hispanic in Garland, Mesquite, Richardson and Plano because of two altercations he had in recent months with people of those backgrounds, police said.
"It was during that last interview [last week] where he admitted to doing the shootings that he told detectives that was his target, it was Hispanics and Asians," Garland police spokesman Joe Harn said.
Based on that admission, the charges against Mr. Nguyen – who emigrated from Vietnam with his family in 2000 – will be filed as hate crimes, significantly increasing the amount of prison time he could receive if convicted, police said.
The details of the incidents that apparently set off the felon are unclear, but Mr. Nguyen indicated that they occurred within the last six months, Officer Harn said.
"He didn't refer to anything that had just happened that made him start shooting that day," Officer Harn said.
When Mr. Nguyen was asked whether the victims were in any other way related to the people with whom he had the disputes he said no.
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Mr. Nguyen was being held Tuesday in the Dallas County Jail in lieu of $600,000 bail. He is charged with three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and one count of deadly conduct, according to jail records.
Even if he posts bail, he will remain in custody on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold, authorities have said. Mr. Nguyen, whose family said is a nursing student, is legally in the U.S. but is not a citizen.
In most of last week's shootings, the gunman missed. But one of the first victims in the spree, Amit Adhikari, was shot in his right hand June 29 while he was stopped at a red light in Garland. The bullets shattered glass, which fell over his girlfriend and her 4-month-old daughter.
"It does kind of surprise me," Mr. Adhikari, 22, a Nepal native, said after learning of the alleged motive Tuesday. "He could have taken someone else's life for no reason."
Another man was shot in the torso at a red light in Garland the same day Mr. Adhikari was shot. His 9-year-old son was in the car but was not injured, police said.
A third shooting occurred in Mesquite that night and another targeted a motorist in Richardson the following day.
On July 1, a motorist was targeted along the Bush Turnpike in Plano.
Hours later, a man drove a black Honda Prelude with an oversized muffler into the parking lot of an Asian restaurant in the 4500 block of West Walnut Street in Garland, police said. He got out, took several steps toward the restaurant and fired two rounds into the wall, just below a row of windows, police said.
Officers stopped a car matching the description of the shooter's about 90 minutes later. Mr. Nguyen was inside, police say, along with a pistol.
During the hours of police interviews that followed, Mr. Nguyen said he did the crimes and outlined his motive, Officer Harn said.
Most, though not all, of the motorists were Hispanic or Asian, police said.
Fred Moss, an associate professor at the Southern Methodist University School of Law, said the ethnicity of the intended targets in this case probably won't make a difference under state law.
"I think that as long as they can show that he selected the persons against who he shot because of this bias against the group, it doesn't make any difference if they were members of the group or not," Mr. Moss said.
This is not the first time Mr. Nguyen has been charged with violent crimes.
In 2006, he was convicted of misdemeanor assault in a case in which a woman was robbed at gunpoint and on a felony charge of failing to render aid in a crash that left a teenage boy with severe head trauma. He was sentenced to six years' probation in all. He also was charged in 2002 with carrying a weapon in a prohibited place.
Showing posts with label Richardson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Richardson. Show all posts
July 8, 2008
Immigrant charged with motorist shootings
Associated Press - July 8, 2008 6:35 PM ET
GARLAND, Texas (AP) - Authorities say charges against a man accused of shooting at random motorists over three days in the Dallas suburbs will be filed as hate crimes.
Thai-An Huu Nguyen faces three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon - two from Garland and one from Richardson.
Garland police said Tuesday that the 22-year-old Nguyen was targeting Asians and Hispanics. Authorities say Nguyen told detectives he had been involved in two separate altercations involving both ethnic groups.
Not all of Nguyen's victims were Hispanic or Asian. But detectives think Nguyen perceived the shooting victims were.
Filing the cases as hate crimes increases the charge to a first-degree felony and enhances the punishment.
Nguyen was being held in Dallas County jail. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed a hold on him. The native of Vietnam is in the U.S. legally, but is accused of crimes that make him deportable. It was not immediately clear if Nguyen had an attorney.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
GARLAND, Texas (AP) - Authorities say charges against a man accused of shooting at random motorists over three days in the Dallas suburbs will be filed as hate crimes.
Thai-An Huu Nguyen faces three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon - two from Garland and one from Richardson.
Garland police said Tuesday that the 22-year-old Nguyen was targeting Asians and Hispanics. Authorities say Nguyen told detectives he had been involved in two separate altercations involving both ethnic groups.
Not all of Nguyen's victims were Hispanic or Asian. But detectives think Nguyen perceived the shooting victims were.
Filing the cases as hate crimes increases the charge to a first-degree felony and enhances the punishment.
Nguyen was being held in Dallas County jail. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed a hold on him. The native of Vietnam is in the U.S. legally, but is accused of crimes that make him deportable. It was not immediately clear if Nguyen had an attorney.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
July 3, 2008
Dallas man accused of shooting at motorists confesses
08:44 PM CDT on Thursday, July 3, 2008
By STEVE THOMPSON / The Dallas Morning News
stevethompson@dallasnews.com
Shooting suspect Thai-An Huu Nguyen turned his head and spit on the pavement Thursday morning as a police officer escorted him into the Dallas County Jail. He glared at the TV cameramen around him and uttered an expletive.
"Why were you shooting?" someone asked.
"They [messed] with me, that's why," replied Mr. Nguyen, using another expletive.
Thai-An Huu Nguyen
It's unclear what "they" – the two strangers he is accused of shooting this week and the two children who narrowly escaped injury – might have done to bother him. But police say Mr. Nguyen has confessed to five seemingly random shootings at motorists during a three-day rampage in Garland, Mesquite, Richardson and Plano.
"He confessed to us last night," Garland police spokesman Joe Harn said Thursday. "We felt sure, with the evidence that we had, that we had our guy, but it's always nice when they finally say, 'Yes, we did it.' "
Mr. Nguyen, 22, was arrested Tuesday after reports of a sixth and final shooting targeting a Garland restaurant.
He faces two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and one count of deadly conduct in Garland. Richardson police said they have filed one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Bail for all his charges totaled $275,000.
Even if he does post bond, authorities say, he will remain in custody on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold. Mr. Nguyen is legally in the U.S. but is not a citizen, ICE spokesman Carl Rusnok said.
Locations of six shootings in North Texas over three days Mr. Nguyen emigrated from Vietnam in 2000 with his parents and four siblings. His family says he studies nursing, but he's also a felon with violence in his past.
His criminal history includes convictions on two charges from 2006: a misdemeanor assault case in which a woman was robbed at gunpoint and a felony charge of failing to render aid in a crash that left a teenage boy with severe head trauma. He received six years' probation in all. He also has a charge from 2002 of carrying a weapon in a prohibited place.
Police say this week's shooting spree began in Garland on Sunday, when a gunman targeted motorists waiting at two different red lights. A third attack occurred later that day in Mesquite. Another motorist was targeted in Richardson on Monday afternoon, and a fifth Tuesday on the Bush Turnpike in Plano.
In most cases, the shooter missed, but one man was shot in the hand and another in the torso.
Staff writer Rachel Slade contributed to the report.
By STEVE THOMPSON / The Dallas Morning News
stevethompson@dallasnews.com
Shooting suspect Thai-An Huu Nguyen turned his head and spit on the pavement Thursday morning as a police officer escorted him into the Dallas County Jail. He glared at the TV cameramen around him and uttered an expletive.
"Why were you shooting?" someone asked.
"They [messed] with me, that's why," replied Mr. Nguyen, using another expletive.
Thai-An Huu Nguyen
It's unclear what "they" – the two strangers he is accused of shooting this week and the two children who narrowly escaped injury – might have done to bother him. But police say Mr. Nguyen has confessed to five seemingly random shootings at motorists during a three-day rampage in Garland, Mesquite, Richardson and Plano.
"He confessed to us last night," Garland police spokesman Joe Harn said Thursday. "We felt sure, with the evidence that we had, that we had our guy, but it's always nice when they finally say, 'Yes, we did it.' "
Mr. Nguyen, 22, was arrested Tuesday after reports of a sixth and final shooting targeting a Garland restaurant.
He faces two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and one count of deadly conduct in Garland. Richardson police said they have filed one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Bail for all his charges totaled $275,000.
Even if he does post bond, authorities say, he will remain in custody on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold. Mr. Nguyen is legally in the U.S. but is not a citizen, ICE spokesman Carl Rusnok said.
Locations of six shootings in North Texas over three days Mr. Nguyen emigrated from Vietnam in 2000 with his parents and four siblings. His family says he studies nursing, but he's also a felon with violence in his past.
His criminal history includes convictions on two charges from 2006: a misdemeanor assault case in which a woman was robbed at gunpoint and a felony charge of failing to render aid in a crash that left a teenage boy with severe head trauma. He received six years' probation in all. He also has a charge from 2002 of carrying a weapon in a prohibited place.
Police say this week's shooting spree began in Garland on Sunday, when a gunman targeted motorists waiting at two different red lights. A third attack occurred later that day in Mesquite. Another motorist was targeted in Richardson on Monday afternoon, and a fifth Tuesday on the Bush Turnpike in Plano.
In most cases, the shooter missed, but one man was shot in the hand and another in the torso.
Staff writer Rachel Slade contributed to the report.
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