The Binh Thuan Province People’s Court yesterday sentenced 37-year-old Vietnamese-American Nguyen Mark Joseph and one of his accomplices, Nguyen Van Hai, 34, to life imprisonment for robbery.
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Joseph, also known as Khanh, and Hai were the masterminds of the robberies at two gold shops in Binh Thuan Province in 2011, the court said.
Three other defendants in the case, Huynh Quoc Thai, Nguyen Bao Quoc, Bui Trung Kien, received 19, 18, and 9 years in prison respectively
The last defendant, Truong Minh Toan, was given a 3-year sentence for selling property obtained in a criminal way.
The court ordered Khanh, Hai and Kien to compensate their victims a total amount of more than VND350 million (US$16,800).
According to the indictment, on May 29, 2011, Khanh and Hai stole a Nissan car worth VND140 million from a man named Nguyen Duc Tong to use it as a means of transport in their robberies.
On June 2, Khanh, Hai and Kien arrived in Hoang Kim jewelry shop in Bac Binh District in the car. They used a stun gun, a hammer and an iron bar to threat the shop’s attendants. They then took away various gold items worth VND176 million.
On the way to escape from the shop, Hai burned down the car in an attempt to erase evidence.
The six defendants in court on January 4, 2013 (Photo: Tuoi Tre)
Four months later, on October 14, 2011 Khanh drove Hai, Quoc, Thai, in a car to rob Thu Thanh gold shop on Nguyen Tat Thanh Street, Cho Lau town.
The gang stole about 1.2 kg of gold and injured the shop owner before fleeing. Khanh was arrested soon after, Hai and Thai were seized later the same day, and Quoc handed himself in three days later.
In a related development, Interpol has confirmed that Khanh is a criminal in the US who has been also wanted internationally.
In 2007 he joined a drug gang in Houston and was in charge of transporting and delivering the drugs. Two years later, the Texas Court issued an international wanted notice for Khanh for trafficking and storing drugs.
If found guilty, Khanh could be sentenced to up to 40 years, the court said.
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