Gang member convicted of killing four people in SoCal pool hall

Friday January 31, 2003

POMONA, Calif. (AP) A Vietnamese gang member was convicted of murdering three men and a woman in an El Monte pool hall in 1999.

A Superior Court jury deliberated for about two days before convicting Anh The Duong, 28, of Garden Grove, of three counts of first-degree murder and one count of second-degree murder. The jury on Thursday also found true the special circumstance of multiple murders.

A penalty phase of the trial was set to begin Friday. Prosecutors planned to ask jurors to recommend the death penalty instead of life in prison without parole for Duong, said Jane Robison, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office.

Duong was accused of opening fire in the crowded pool hall May 6, 1999 after arguing with another man. Killed were Minh Dieu Tram, 28, of West Covina; Hao The Tang, 22, of South El Monte; Robert Anthony Norman, 28, of Garden Grove; and Lan Thi Dang, 23, of Long Beach.

Duong fled but was eventually linked to the crime. He was arrested July 2001 in Orange County, four month after prosecutors filed charges against him.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)