Extortionist, Fugitive Sentenced in 1995 South Sacramento Murders

July 21, 2017 |  

A reputed organized crime figure who operated an extortion racket operation and a fugitive on the run for over 16 years was sentenced yesterday in Sacramento Superior Court for a 1995 south Sacramento murder. 

Hung Phi Nguyen,46, who was previously convicted for the first degree murder of two victim was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole plus an additional 99 years. On June 22, 2017, a jury convicted Nguyen for the first-degree murders of Ri Nguyen and Say Ngo and four additional counts of attempted murder. 

In 1995, Hung Phi Nguyen and two others were attempting to take over an extortion racket of Chinese gambling businesses in south Sacramento. On May 17, 1995, Hung Phi Nguyen shot at Thang Bui and Duong Phan in a case of mistaken identity. 

Then, on June 27, 1995, Hung Phi Nguyen and his cohorts then shot and killed Ri Nguyen, their extortion competition who were operating out of an apartment on Lemon Hill Ave. They also killed Say Ngo, the owner of a gambling business. 

During that shooting, two other victims, Mark Huang and San Vong, were shot in the crossfire, but both survived their injuries. The other two defendants were tried and convicted of the double murder in 1995. 

A fugitive, Hung Phi Nguyen eluded law enforcement until he was captured while crossing the Arizona-California border in 2011.