Wounded Man Identifies Defendant as Uncle’s Killer

A man wounded during an El Cajon robbery in which his uncle was killed has identified the man who he said fired the shots.

David Warten, testifying Monday during a preliminary hearing, said Hai Van Nguyen fired the shots that wounded him and killed Thamir Mikhael on Aug. 18 during a robbery at the Deliquery Market on Broadway.

Warten testified that he intentionally identified another man as the gunman during a police lineup because he was worried about retribution against him and his family.

Nguyen and co-defendant Tin Trung Ngo are accused of murder and robbery. Nguyen is also charged with attempted murder, and prosecutors filed a new complaint Monday charging Nguyen with special circumstances in the slaying.

The complaint alleges that Nguyen committed a murder during the commission of a robbery. If a jury convicts him of this allegation, he could be sentenced to die in the gas chamber.

Nguyen, 19, of Garden Grove, and Ngo, also 19 and from Westminster, are being held in lieu of $5 million bail.

Another suspect in the case, Dung Hung Ly, who police believe drove the getaway car, is in custody after being arrested at the San Ysidro border checkpoint.

Police have said the three men are part of a large gang of Asian men who may be responsible for numerous crimes.

The murder victim was an Iraqi-born man associated with the Chaldean community in El Cajon.

The preliminary hearing is expected to end today.