Viet-Am Youth to Be Tried as Adult
By Janet Dang

A 16-year-old Vietnamese American from San Jose has been charged with murder and is scheduled to be tried as an adult under Proposition 21, which California voters last March to allow prosecutors the discretion to try minors as adults in violent or gang-related cases. If convicted, Tran could receive 25 years to life in prison.

Canh V. Tran is accused of beating to death 44-year old Hiep Hoa Nguyen with a metal bar, according to investigators. Nguyen, a San Jose resident, was found May 23 by a passing motorist on San Felipe Road near Heartland Way in San Jose. With numerous blunt injuries to his head, he was transported to a local hospital, where he later died.

Deputy District Attorney Joyce Ferris-Metcalf said that just before the violence broke out, both Tran and Nguyen, acquaintances of each other, were passengers in a vehicle driven by a 17-year-old.

Both teenage boys were arrested May 30. Tran is being detained in Juvenile Hall. Ferris-Metcalf said there is a possibility the second youth would be tried as an adult as well.

In trying Tran as an adult, the Ferris-Metcalf said, “This is just a quicker way of doing it. It saves both time and money.” She added that even without the new law, it’s likely that the juvenile-court judge would have granted a petition to try Tran as an adult.

“It was a very vicious beating. And he’s over the age of 16,” she said.

According to Ferris-Metcalf, Tran and the victim were involved in a sexual relationship. Tran had arranged with the other juvenile to meet with Nguyen. They had planned to drive to a coffee shop together but they instead drove to San Felipe road. In the vehicle, Tran began to beat Nguyen over the head with a metal bar. Nguyen escaped from the car but was later caught and beaten again. The two teens drove off, while Nguyen was left to die.