OAKLAND — A prosecutor asked jurors today to convict four reputed gang members of murder and other charges for the death of one of their associates in a wild shootout at a birthday party in East Oakland three years ago.
Alameda County Deputy District Attorney Robert Graff said so many shots were fired in the incident in the 1700 block of 20th avenue at about 1:50 a.m. on Jan. 29, 2012, that, “it sounded like a war zone” during what he described as 36 seconds of chaos.
He said at least 11 guns were used in the shooting and 135 shell casings were found afterward.
Graff alleged that the reputed members of the Asian Street Walkers (ASW) gang fired at members of the rival Oak Town Crips (OTC) gang because one of its members was upset that rivals had shot at him a short time earlier as he was driving to his girlfriend’s house.
Standing trial for the death of 20-year-old Jordan Chhit of Vallejo, who allegedly was their colleague, are Phon Mey, 31, Scott Mouen, 23, Saun Oeurn, 31, and Danny Vo, 21.In addition to the murder charge for Chhit’s death, the four men are charged with three counts of attempted murder because three other people were wounded in the shooting and also face a charge of shooting at an inhabited dwelling.
Graff said it’s not clear who fired the shot that killed Chhit but the four defendants are charged with murder under the provocative act doctrine because prosecutors believe they started the gun battle and their
actions led to his death.
A fifth suspect, 23-year-old Aaron Kheav, faced identical charges but three weeks ago prosecutors allowed him to plead no contest to the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter as well as attempted murder in exchange for his testimony against the other men. His plea agreement calls for him to receive a state prison term of 14 years and 4 months if he testifies truthfully.
Graff said the shooting occurred after Mey told his reputed associates that members of the OTC gang had shot at him and he knew that some members of the rival gang were attending a birthday party at a house in the 1700 block of 20th Avenue.
The prosecutor said Mey armed himself with an assault rifle.
Mouen, Chitt and Kheav were all armed with pistols, and Oeurn drove his reputed associates to the shooting scene in his van.
Graff said one of the people who was at the party fired back at the ASW gang members after they started shooting at the house and one of their bullets pierced him across his chest.
Defense attorneys for Mey, Mouen, Oeurn and Vo asked jurors to find the four men not guilty, saying the prosecution won’t be able to prove that they initiated the shooting and are legally responsible for Chhit’s
death.
Mouen’s lawyer, Tammy Yuen, said when the shooting began people at the party, including OTC members, already had their guns out and were ready to shoot.
Yuen said multiple people who were at the party fired at ASW members and alleged that Chhit was shot as he was running away from the house.
Graff said that after Chhit was shot, his associates didn’t take him to the hospital right away because they wanted to get rid of their guns first.
He said they eventually drove Chhit to Highland Hospital in Oakland but he was pronounced dead there.
Yuen told jurors they shouldn’t trust Kheav’s testimony because he initially lied to police by saying he wasn’t even at the scene of the shooting and denied being a member of a gang.
Yuen also said Kheav’s testimony should be questioned because his plea agreement “drastically reduced his prison sentence” and “guarantees he’ll get out of custody” some day.