ANAHEIM : 11-Year-Old Hero Wins Recognition

The few minutes that two robbers hesitated before blindfolding their victim was a costly error that landed them behind bars and made a hero of 11-year-old John Le.

During those moments, as Le was being hogtied, he saw enough to later positively identify two gang members as his assailants and become the prosecution’s only eyewitness.

“Without his testimony I had no case,” said Orange County Deputy Dist. Atty. Jacqueline M. Arroyo, who prosecuted the case last month. “He’s an extremely bright and remarkable boy . . . a hero.”

Wednesday, in front of about 300 of his fellow students at James Madison Elementary School, the 4-foot-tall sixth grader was showered with awards from throughout the community and praised for his bravery and courage for testifying against his attackers.

“It was just something I had to do,” Le said, shrugging off the attention.

“We’re all very proud of him. He is a good role model, and maybe his actions will motivate other students to act bravely,” said Lynn Crutchley, the school’s principal.

Le’s ordeal began on June 4, a Sunday morning, when he was home alone while his parents worked at a nearby swap meet selling electronic merchandise. “I heard a knock at the door and went to answer it,” he said.

When he did, two teen-age boys belonging to a gang forced themselves inside, jumped on Le and looted the house, according to authorities. They kicked him and threatened him with a knife as they tied his hands and feet together with telephone cord. But before they were able to blindfold Le, he was able to get a good look at the two, remembering such details as scars, jewelry, hair styles and voices.

“It was outstanding observation on his part, unlike most crime victims in that situation,” said Anaheim Police Detective Kahle Switzer. “He’s a pretty cool kid.”

For more than two hours, Le lay bound on the floor as the robbers ransacked the house. They left with $4,000 in cash and various electronic equipment.

After the two fled, the family dog, Lisa, gnawed at the telephone cord to help free Le. Once untied, he called his parents who in turn summoned police.

Switzer said that law enforcement agencies usually have trouble handling such cases people of Vietnamese descent because the victims have a cultural fear that the police are corrupt, he said.

“A lot of times they go unreported. Most the time they fear their own kind,” Switzer said. “But John did an excellent job of coming forward and testifying.”

Le said that after he identified the robbers to the police, he felt he had to testify, despite his mother’s objection. “I knew if I didn’t put them away they would probably get me back,” he said.

Arroyo said Le showed “amazing courage and poise on the witness stand. . . . If it wasn’t for his testimony, they’d be free right now.” The two robbers, 15 and 17 years old, were sentenced to eight years at a California Youth Authority facility. A third attacker, who entered the house after Le was blindfolded, has not been captured.

At the school assembly Wednesday, Le was given awards from the school, the county district attorney’s office, the office of State Sen. John Seymour (R-Anaheim) and Westec Security Inc., which gave him a $500 savings bond.

When asked if he felt like a hero, Le looked down at the assembly platform, smiled and softly said: “Kinda.”