U.S. v. Cuong Gia Le, CRIM. 03-48-A.

• Decision Date: 24 March 2004
• Docket Number: No. CRIM. 03-48-A.,CRIM. 03-48-A.
• Citation: 310 F.Supp.2d 763
• Parties: UNITED STATES, Plaintiff, v. CUONG GIA LE, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Virginia

310 F.Supp.2d 763

UNITED STATES, Plaintiff, v. CUONG GIA LE, et al., Defendants.

No. CRIM. 03-48-A.

United States District Court, E.D. Virginia, Alexandria Division.

March 24, 2004.

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James Trump, Assistant United States Attorney, Alexandria, VA, for Plaintiff.

Paul P. Vangellow, Falls Church, VA, Frank Salvato, Alexandria, VA, James Goodman Connell, III, Devine & Connell PLC, Fairfax, VA, for defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

ELLIS, District Judge.

In this seven defendant multi-count RICO¹ prosecution, defendants seek threshold dismissal of certain counts of the Indictment as legally insufficient. Specifically, defendants' dismissal motions raise the following questions concerning the adequacy of the Indictment:

(i) whether counts charging racketeering in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1962 must allege continuity of, and relationship between, the alleged racketeering acts; and

(ii) whether counts charging that defendants committed acts in aid of racketeering activity in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1959 must set forth with specificity the alleged predicate acts of racketeering; and

(iii) whether counts charging that defendants engaged in conspiracies to commit acts in aid of racketeering in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1959 must allege overt acts in furtherance of the conspiracies; and

(iv) whether a count charging that certain defendants acted as accessories to murder, attempted murder, and assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering must be dismissed or, in the alternative severed, as insufficiently related to the other counts of the Indictment.

I.

At issue is the Fourth Superseding Indictment ("Indictment"), which consists of twenty-five counts spread over forty-nine pages.² In essence, the Indictment alleges that the seven defendants are active members of a criminal enterprise or gang consisting primarily of Vietnamese youth and known as the "Oriental Playboys" or "OPB." According to the Indictment, defendants and other OPB members used this enterprise to commit various crimes, including burglary, drug distribution, credit card fraud, murder, assault, robbery, and firearms violations in Virginia, Maryland, and elsewhere between August 2000 and July 2003, all for purposes of enhancing the power, status, and position of OPB in the community and enriching its members. Much of the alleged violence perpetrated by OPB was intended to protect OPB members from, or to retaliate against, known rival youth gangs, such as the "Dragon Family" and the "Oriental Bloods." Defendant Cuong Gia Le's involvement in the criminal activities of OPB, the alleged criminal enterprise, serves as the basis for Count one of the Indictment, which charges Le with violating RICO, 18 U.S.C. § 1962(c), as well as Count two, which charges Le with conspiring with other unindicted conspirators to violate RICO, 18 U.S.C. § 1962(d).

The Indictment further alleges that between October 2000 and May 2001 defendants committed a series of criminal offenses and eight racketeering acts in Virginia and Maryland. Beginning in October 2000, and extending over a period of approximately seven months, Le, a leader of OPB, and several unindicted co-conspirators allegedly engaged in a series of nine home invasions and robberies of eight homes and one business in Fairfax, Charlottesville, and Midlothian, Virginia and Baltimore County and Montgomery County, Maryland. In the course of these home invasions and robberies, Le and his co-conspirators robbed their victims' of cash and valuable property, including jewelry, camera equipment electronics and stereo equipment, and a safe containing approximately $40,000 in cash and $30,000 in jewelry. On various of these occasions, Le and other co-conspirators brandished weapons and committed acts of violence against their victims, including threatening, confining, restraining, or assaulting them. In the course of certain of these instances, the perpetrators forcefully confined the victims, including children and elderly individuals, in bathrooms or closets. Furthermore, on at least two occasions, the perpetrators identified their victims prior to the robbery and followed them home from a public place before invading and robbing their homes. Although Le did not personally participate in all nine robberies, he allegedly participated in a violent home invasion in Bethesda, Maryland on April 6, 2001, during which he and others robbed the residence of approximately $4000 in cash and assaulted an occupant of the home with the butt of their handguns until the occupant was unconscious. These offenses serve as the basis for (i) Count 13, which charges Le with affecting commerce by robbery in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951, (ii) Count 14, which charges Le with conspiracy to affect commerce by robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951, (iii) Count 18, which charges Le with using and carrying a firearm during and relation to a violent crime, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2 and 924(c)(1), and (iv) two of the eight alleged racketeering acts that make up the alleged pattern of racketeering.

In addition to these home invasions and robberies, the Indictment also alleges that during the same period — October 2000 to May 2001 — OPB members committed several other crimes. Specifically, it is alleged that on November 23, 2000, in Falls Church, Virginia, defendant Loc Tien Nguyen³ and Ky Truong Quach conspired with other unindicted conspirators to commit assault with a dangerous weapon. According to the government, pursuant to this conspiracy, the charged defendants traveled to Virginia Beach planning to exact revenge on an individual they believed had killed a friend, but in the end, they did not in fact assault that individual. This offense serves as the basis for (i) Count three of the Indictment, which charges Loc Nguyen and Quach with conspiracy to commit assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering activity in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(6) and (ii) Counts fifteen and sixteen, which charge Quach and Loc Nguyen with using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a violent crime in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2 and 924(c).

Next, it is also alleged that on March 26, 2001, in Fairfax County, Virginia, Le committed an assault with a dangerous weapon. According to the government, this assault occurred in the course of an incident at the Cafe Dan in Northern Virginia. This offense serves as the basis for (i) Count four, which charges Le with threatening a crime of violence in aid of racketeering activity in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(3) and (ii) Count seventeen, which charges Le with using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a violent crime in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2 and 924(c).

A few weeks later, on April 9, 2001, in Falls Church, Virginia, defendants Le, Nam Nguyen, Nguyen Nguyen, and Vu Hoang Nguyen allegedly conspired and attempted to murder Hoang Trinh, who OPB members believed had "set up" OPB in a fight with a rival group. These alleged offenses serve as the basis for (i) Count Five, which charges these four defendants with attempted murder in aid of racketeering activity in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(5), (ii) Count six, which charges these four defendants with conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering activity in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(5), (ii) Count nineteen, which charges these four defendants with using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a violent crime in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2 and 924(c), and (iii) two of the eight racketeering acts that make up the alleged pattern of racketeering activity.

At about the same time in April 2001, in Fairfax County, Virginia, Le and Quach are alleged to have conspired with other unindicted conspirators, including Minh Trieu Tran and Bao Quang Pham, to commit an assault with a dangerous weapon. This offense serves as the basis for (i) Count seven, which charges Le and Quach with conspiracy to commit assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering activity in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(6) and (ii) Counts twenty and twenty-one, which charge Le and Quach, respectively, with using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a violent crime in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2 and 924(c).

And finally, central to the Indictment is a series of shootings in Falls Church, Virginia on May 13, 2001. On that date, Le allegedly shot four individuals known to be associated with one of OPB's rival gangs — Binh Anh Luu, Long Phi Nguyen, Hoang Anh Tran, and Michael Van Thach — and assaulted another — Chung Nguyen. Two of these individuals — Luu and Long Nguyen — subsequently died. The remaining six defendants each allegedly assisted Le in some manner to escape apprehension by law enforcement authorities after the shootings. More specifically, Ho fled with Le immediately after the shootings, and Loc Nguyen and Quach assisted Le in fleeing to New York City shortly thereafter. These offenses serve as the basis for nine counts of the Indictment: (i) Counts eight and nine, which charge Le with murder in aid of racketeering in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(1); (ii) Counts ten and eleven, which charge Le with attempted murder in aid of racketeering in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(5); (iii) Count twelve, which charges Le with assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering activity in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(3); (iv) Count twenty-two, which charges Le with using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a violent crime in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c); (v) Counts twenty-three and twenty-four, which charge Le with murder in the course of a firearms offense in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c)(1) and 924(j); and (vi) Count twenty-five, which charges Loc Nguyen, Ho, Nam Nguyen, Nguyen Nguyen, Vu Nguyen, and Quach as accessories after the fact to Le's criminal violations in...