Charged with a murder that took place more than 31 months ago, Henh Chu Ngo appeared for a preliminary hearing in Fairfax County General District Court Monday, Aug. 1.
Ngoc Quy Doan Nguyen, 21, was shot and murdered outside the Happi Billiards & Cafe on Little River Turnpike in Annandale on Dec. 27, 2002.
Nguyen and two friends played pool for an hour and 40 minutes before deciding to get something to eat, according to testimony from Nguyen's friend, 17 at the time of the murder.
In the parking lot of Happi Billiards & Cafe, Ngo approached the car after Nguyen and his two friends got into a white Honda Prelude. "He went up to the car and knocked on the window and I saw his hand under his jacket. I knew he was holding something. At that point, I knew something wasn't right," testified Nguyen's friend, Phuc Nguyen, now 20.
When Nguyen got out of the car to talk with Ngo, Ngo "shot him ... and then shot two more for me and my other friend," who were still in the car.
"As soon as he shot, we ducked," the witness testified. "Twenty seconds later, we got out [of the car] to see if everything was okay. I got out and saw my friend on the ground bleeding."
The witness suffered a cut from the bullet, pointing to his shoulder.
IMMIGRATION TASK FORCE officers arrested Ngo, 22 and formerly of Springfield, on Feb. 10, 2005 in West Toronto, according to a press release from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
"United States authorities allege that the wanted man fled the United States shortly after the homicide, possibly entering Canada through unlawful means," according to Canadian police.
Four men waited in the parking lot as Nguyen and his two friends left the pool hall, according to the witness. One, a former classmate of the witness from Bailey's Elementary School, asked if he was a member of an Asian street gang.
"Some of my friends were in it. Quy [Nguyen] was not in it. … I wasn't," he said.
The persons with Ngo identified themselves as members of a different Asian street gang.
General District Judge Mark C. Simmons ruled that Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney John Murphy presented enough evidence to send Ngo's case before a Fairfax Grand Jury.
Hearings are anticipated to continue in the fall in Fairfax County Circuit Court.
Ngo is represented by defense attorneys Peter D. Greenspun and Jonathan Shapiro.