Trial for a man accused of a fatal beating in an illegal gambling room in downtown Honolulu begins in state court Thursday.
Alex Nguyen, 35, is to stand trial on charges of murder and kidnapping in connection with the April 2, 2011, death of Duc Pham.
Three other defendants, Maauga Imoa, 28, Manu Tonga, 25, and Sione Vulangi, 31, each pleaded guilty in April to kidnapping and assault for participating in the beating. They are expected to testify in the trial against Nguyen.
Imoa, Tonga and Vulangi told police that the beating took place in a ground-floor commercial space in Marin Tower, a city-owned building. The front door faces Maunakea Street, one block makai of the Honolulu Police Department’s Downtown-Chinatown Substation.
Honolulu police said in a written statement that operators often disguise gambling rooms as legitimate businesses.
"And the gambling room’s location attests to the operator’s boldness," police said.
Chu Lan Shubert-Kwock, president of the Chinatown Business and Community Association, says she and others had repeatedly reported the gambling room to authorities to no avail.
Police said that, as with other illegal establishments, gambling rooms are closed operations that are difficult to infiltrate. Operators use surveillance cameras and security staff to identify and screen patrons, and only known, trusted individuals are allowed in. Police said that makes it difficult for them to collect sufficient information to obtain the search warrant required to enter a business to collect evidence and make arrests.
Gerell Management operates Marin Tower and other city-owned properties in downtown Honolulu.
Company manager Keola Gerell said the tenant had been renting the ground-floor space for about a year and a half. During that time, Gerell said, he had been trying to take legal action against the tenant for conducting illegal activities.
"We were on top of that from the beginning," he said.
By the time police entered the room to search for evidence of Pham’s fatal beating, Gerell said, the tenant had already decided to give up the unit.
The tenant emptied the space but left behind two security cameras, still in place on tripods in display windows on opposite sides of the front door.
Police said they found a significant amount of blood on the walls and floor.
A fresh produce store now occupies the space.
Police said Nguyen, Imoa, Tonga and Vulangi worked as security staff or doormen and had been looking for Pham because they believed he stole money from the operation, where he also worked. They found Pham at another illegal gambling room on Kinau Street and took him back to Maunakea Street.
Tonga, Imoa and Vulangi told police all four of them, including Nguyen, slapped, kicked and punched the 42-year-old Pham in the head but that it was Nguyen who hit Pham twice in the head with a heavy chain. Imoa told police he and Tonga took an unresponsive Pham to the Queen’s Medical Center several hours later when he began to foam at the mouth. They told police at the hospital that they found Pham in the parking lot of Moanalua Community Park but later changed their story.
