15 years in prison for man who used gun to kill gangster boss

On the afternoon of August 28, the People's Court of Ha Tinh province opened the appeal trial of defendant Le Hoang Anh (31 years old), residing in Duc Lac commune, Duc Tho district, Ha Tinh province, for the crime of murder.

According to the indictment, Hoang Anh and Nguyen Song Thao (resident of Duc An commune, owner of the pawn shop) had a previous conflict. At around 3:00 p.m. on September 20, 2018, Nguyen Xuan Tap (Thao’s younger brother) called Hoang Anh to ask about this. The two sides raised their voices and challenged each other to a fight.

To resolve the conflict, Thao invited more people to give Hoang Anh a "revenge". Accompanying Thao's group was the gang leader in Duc Tho area, Tran Cao Nguyen. At 4:30 p.m. the same day, dozens of people went by car and motorbike to Hoang Anh's house. Nguyen was the first to enter the gate and was shot in the chest by Hoang Anh with a sports rifle, causing him to collapse on the spot. Shot in the head, Nguyen was helped by his followers into a 7-seat Innova car and then ran away. Hoang Anh continued to chase and fired another shot into the roof of the car.

During the trip, Hoang Anh threw away the gun used to commit the crime at a resident's house in Duc Tho district. After that, he took a bus to Nghe An to rest for a night and then went to Lang Son to find a way to China. However, after talking to his parents over the phone, Hoang Anh was persuaded by his family to turn himself in to receive leniency.

At the trial, Le Hoang Anh expressed remorse, apologized to the victim’s family, and hoped for leniency. The defendant had mitigating circumstances because he confessed honestly and persuaded the victim’s family to compensate the victim’s family with 450 million VND.

After considering the circumstances, the panel of judges upheld the first instance verdict sentencing defendant Le Hoang Anh to 15 years in prison for murder.