Pair charged in hammer attack pot robbery near Eagle Point
Oct. 25—Two northern California men face a string of felony charges surrounding a violent home invasion robbery at an illicit marijuana grow outside Eagle Point city limits.
Vay San Duong, 51, of San Pablo, California, and Kien Vihn Vong, 49, of Sacramento, each face felony assault, robbery, weapon use and aggravated theft charges accusing them of injuring at least three people Thursday night with a hammer, according to documents filed Monday by the Jackson County District Attorney's Office.
Details about the attack were sealed, but a document filed by Deputy District Attorney Patrick Green lists grounds for the 16 felony charges in what police and prosecutors allege was a home-invasion robbery for at least $10,000 worth of unlicensed marijuana.
Jackson County sheriff's deputies, Eagle Point police and Oregon State Police interrupted the robbery in progress about 9:30 p.m. Thursday on Lake Creek Loop in Eagle Point after Emergency Communications of Southern Oregon 911 dispatchers got a call for help, according to an earlier news report.
The robbery brought out detectives from the Jackson County Major Assault and Death Investigation Unit and the Jackson County Illegal Marijuana Enforcement Team.
Duong and Vong each face three counts of second-degree assault accusing them of "unlawfully and knowingly" causing physical injury to three of the four named victims in the case "by means of a dangerous weapon, to wit: a hammer."
They each face three counts of first-degree robbery, four counts of second-degree robbery, three counts of unlawful use of a weapon, one count of first-degree burglary and one count of aggravated first-degree theft.
Under Oregon's Measure 11 law, robbery in the first degree carries a mandatory minimum 7 years, 6 months in prison if convicted, and assault in the second degree and robbery in second degree each carry a mandatory 5 years, 10 months in prison if convicted.
Duong separately faces an added vehicle theft charge accusing him of stealing a Nissan truck that belonged to one of the four named victims during the robbery.
The DA's office only named two suspects in the robbery, but the Jackson County Sheriff's Office believes a third suspect is still out there.
The sheriff's office stated on Friday that a third suspect fled from a vehicle on Highway 140 near mile marker 13 after the robbery. As of Monday afternoon, a spokesman for the sheriff's office said he had no updates in the search.
The suspect may be armed with a handgun, and the sheriff's office asks anyone who may have info about the third suspect's whereabouts to call 911. They can reference JCSO Case No. 21-5610.
Reach web editor Nick Morgan at 541-776-4471 or nmorgan@rosebudmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MTwebeditor.
