Alleged ‘Asian Boyz’ Enter Pleas

VAN NUYS — Five reputed members of a Southeast Asian gang accused of seven killings and a host of other violent crimes in the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys since 1995 pleaded not guilty Wednesday.

Known as the “Asian Boyz,” the gang with 300 members in California primarily targeted rival Asian gang members but also chose their victims among the Southeast Asian community, authorities alleged.

“They were a violent, sophisticated criminal street gang,” LAPD Det. Mel Arnold of the Valley Bureau said outside the courtroom Wednesday. “And in what is typical practice for Asian street gangs they preyed on their own community.”

Those pleading not guilty Wednesday were Bunthoeun Roeung, 20, and Roatha Buth, 24, both of Van Nuys; David Evangalista, 22, of Taft, and Ky Ngo, 21, and Son Bui, 20, both of whom investigators say live in the San Fernando Valley. They had been indicted by a grand jury last month in more than 30 offenses including murder, attempted murder and conspiracy.

The alleged crimes include:

* The drive-by ambush killings of two men and the attempted slayings of two other people at a Van Nuys housing project April 14, 1995.

* The slaying of one man and the attempted slaying of another in Northridge and the attempted slayings of five men traveling in a car in North Hills, all on July 23, 1995.

* A triple drive-by slaying and an attempted murder on the I-10 Freeway in El Monte, Aug. 1, 1995.

* The slaying of one man and attempted slayings of seven others in a vehicle-to-vehicle drive-by on Aug. 26, 1995.

* The attempted murder of two people Sept. 25, 1995.

Prosecutors could seek the death penalty for all but one defendant, Ky “Tony” Ngo. The decision to seek death will be made at a later date by a committee of prosecutors within the Los Angeles district attorney’s office. In addition to the shootings, the “Asian Boyz” were accused of numerous home-invasion robberies, burglaries, extortion and arson.

“Their ultimate goal was power,” Arnold said. “Our goal is to give it back to the people in the community.” To weaken the gang’s grip, Arnold said last year law enforcement officials from the Los Angeles Police Department, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI’s violent crimes task force teamed up to investigate the gang.

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In addition to California, authorities say the “Asian Boyz” have scores of members in Texas, Massachusetts and Florida.

One defense lawyer said her client had no links to gangs. “He denies vehemently he’s part of the Asian Boyz” said Encino lawyer Arlene Binder of her client, Ky Ngo.

Two other men allegedly part of the gang are still at large: Sothi Menh, 22, of Van Nuys and Marvin Mercado, 23, of Taft.