Officer’s Killer Gets Life Without Parole

A refugee from Vietnam who came here eight years ago in search of freedom and a better life was sentenced Friday to life in prison without possibility of parole for the 1984 Chinatown murder of a Los Angeles police officer.

Sang Nam Chinh did not speak during the two-hour sentencing procedure. He was led away without showing any visible reaction after Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Jean E. Matusinka handed down the stiffest possible sentence, despite a written plea for mercy just days earlier.

In April, after a trial that lasted more than a year, a Superior Court jury found Chinh guilty of murder in the deaths of Officer Duane Johnson and a robbery accomplice.

Other Sentences Added

But in sentencing Chinh on Friday, Matusinka imposed a sentence that went beyond the jury’s recommendation of life without parole. She also imposed sentences totaling more than 43 years for other counts against Chinh that stemmed from the crime--and she ordered that he serve out those years before the life sentence begins.

“He’ll never get out,” conceded one of Chinh’s lawyers, Los Angeles County Deputy Public Defender Jill Lansing.

Chinh was also convicted of attempted murder in the shootings of Officer Archie Nagao, Johnson’s partner, and Robert Lee, son of the owner of the Jin Hing Jewelry store.

Three members of the jury that convicted Chinh attended Friday’s sentencing and pronounced themselves satisfied. “We’re glad it’s finally over,” said Don Duke, a U.S. Labor Department compliance officer who served as foreman.

Appeal to Follow

Deputy Public Defender Charles Gessler said an appeal would be filed. The judge earlier had denied four defense motions for a new trial.

Chinh, now 22, was the youngest of five men who prosecutors said attempted to rob the jewelry store on a rainy December afternoon 3 1/2 years ago. A different jury has found a co-defendant, Hau Cheong (Peter) Chan, guilty of second-degree murder. He is to be sentenced in July.

During the robbery, the owners triggered a silent alarm and Johnson and Nagao responded. Once they were inside, the shooting began.

Two of the robbers died in the gun battle. The fifth turned state’s evidence and was not prosecuted. Chan and Chinh were also injured in the shooting.

In a report to Matusinka, Chief Probation Officer Barry J. Nidorf portrayed Chinh as a person with a history of violent behavior whose involvement with petty crimes escalated inexorably.

Failed to Cooperate

Chinh reportedly was less than cooperative during a recent interview with a deputy probation officer. But in a May 20 letter to Matusinka that was prepared by his attorneys, Chinh pleaded for leniency.

He wrote that he now feels sorry “for everyone who got hurt and scared that day. . . . I just hope, with the rest of my life I can do some good, even if it is not enough to balance the damage I have done by being a part of that robbery.”

Chinh added: “I cannot change now what happened that day. . . . I can only tell you I have learned many valuable lessons. All I want now is to learn. I want an education and to learn a skill. I have never contributed anything to society. I would like the chance to do that.”

Chinh was 12 when his mother, a single parent, put him and his sister, then 23, on a crowded boat that sailed from war-torn Vietnam 10 years ago.