Woman arrested for allegedly ordering murder of two patrons
Friday September 17, 2004
WESTMINSTER, Calif. (AP) A 20-year-old waitress has been arrested for allegedly ordering the slayings of two customers who allegedly made rude remarks and tried to grab her as she served them drinks, authorities said.
Ngan Thi Bich Vo was arrested at her Westminster home on Tuesday as she was preparing to flee to Vietnam, police said. The woman's boyfriend, wanted for questioning in connection with the Aug. 16 killings, may have left the country.
Police also arrested Danny Tran, 23, of Garden Grove and Long Le, 22, of Westminster, who were allegedly in the shooter's getaway car. Each has been charged with two counts of murder and with gang enhancements. Bail was set at $1 million each, police said.
Vo, Le and Tran will be arraigned in Westminster on Friday.
Vo was among three people named in a murder complaint stemming from the shooting of Tri Thanh Phan, 38, of Fountain Valley and Kurt Martinsen, 29, of Lake Forest at a Vietnamese nightclub in Garden Grove.
Authorities said Vo called her boyfriend and asked him to intervene. She told her boyfriend, who was at another nightclub, that she felt the two customers had insulted her by tugging on her skirt and trying to flirt with her, said Garden Grove Police Lt. Mike Handfield.
``She was highly upset, and that may have been the anger that caused this,'' Handfield said. ``She called and facilitated the murders. There is evidence that suggested that she took part in a message to `take care of business.'''
A lone gunman walked into the crowded restaurant, strode past four tables and opened fire. Police said the gunman then ran out of the restaurant and jumped into a car in which two men were waiting.
Phan and Martinsen, who had reportedly bought the waitress a rose as a gesture of apology shortly before they were shot, died at the scene.
Police said they were still searching for the weapon and four other people, including Vo's boyfriend. The boyfriend, who has previous drug convictions, is believed to have left the country shortly after he was interviewed by police, officials said.
might want to rethink that whole tipping strategy...