Victim was kidnapped, tortured in San Jose, police say

Amy Larson
·2 min read
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(KRON) — A man was kidnapped and tortured in San Jose by a trio of alleged criminals, police said Thursday.

Just before 4 a.m. on February 15, hospital staff members called the San Jose Police Department to report a patient who transported himself to their hospital. The man was suffering from non-lethal injuries and circumstances around how he became injured were suspicious, SJPD said.

Detectives discovered that the victim had been kidnapped and held against his will in the 2600 block of Million Court on the evening on February 13. “Multiple suspects held the victim against his will and tortured and assaulted him multiple times. The victim was eventually released by the suspects,” SJPD spokesperson Stacie Shih wrote.

“SJPD Robbery Unit Detectives conducted a thorough and comprehensive investigation and identified Duc Nguyen, Kim Ho, and Dayton Pham as the suspects responsible,” Shih wrote.

Ho, 50, Nguyen, 49, Pham, 30, all live in San Jose. Detectives served searched warrants at the trio’s homes and seized evidence related to the kidnapping, illegal gambling machines, and illegal marijuana.

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On April 9, the SJPD Covert Response Unit and Special Operations MERGE Unit apprehended the three suspects. Pham and Ho were arrested in San Jose, while Nguyen was arrested in Sunnyvale. They were booked into a Santa Clara County jail on suspicion of robbery, kidnapping, torture, and assault with a deadly weapon.

Police did not release a motive behind the violent incident.

During the investigation, detectives said they determined that Nguyen was also responsible for an assault with a deadly weapon and criminal threats incident that took place on Valentine’s Day at a business located in the 3000 block of Story Road.

In addition, Nguyen is a primary suspect for an organized retail theft ring being investigated by the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office.

Sheriff’s deputies arrested Nguyen and 12 others in connection to the theft ring on April 9 in San Jose. The other arrestees were identified as: Hoan Nguyen, 54, Phuoc Nguyen, 53, Dat Nguyen, 47, Duyen Le, 28, Dat Tran, 50,, Lisa Butler, 53, Chau Vo, 51, Su Nguyen, 57, Anita Nguyen, 54, Hoang Luu, 44, and Tu Nguyen, 30.

Approximately $110,000 worth of stolen merchandise from Home Depot was recovered, along with $40,000 in additional merchandise stolen from Target, Kohl’s, Lowe’s, Macys, and Sunglass Hut. “The collaborative effort between law enforcement and the private sector proved to be instrumental in disrupting the operations of organized retail theft rings,” the Sheriff’s Office wrote.

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