3 people arrested in kidnap, torture case in San Jose: police
San Jose police announced the arrest of Duc Nguyen, Kim Ho, and Dayton Pham stemming from a kidnap and torture case from Feb. 13, 2024. (San Jose Police Dept.)
SAN JOSE, Calif. - San Jose police on Thursday announced the arrest of three people suspected in a kidnap and torture case earlier this year.
Investigators said the kidnapping happened on Feb. 13 when a man was held in the 2600 block of Million Court.
"Multiple suspects held the victim against his will and tortured and assaulted him multiple times," police said in a press release.
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Investigators said the victim was eventually released and turned up at a local hospital two days after the alleged kidnapping.
Detectives with the police department's robbery unit launched an investigation that led them to the arrest of Duc Nguyen, Kim Ho, and Dayton Pham last week.
A search warrant related to the case resulted in the discovery of illegal gambling machines and illegal marijuana for sale, police said.
The suspects face charges including robbery, kidnapping, torture, and assault with a deadly weapon.
San Jose police also noted that during the course of the investigation, they linked Nguyen to other crimes, including being the "primary suspect" in a major organized retail theft ring that was being investigated by the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office.
In that case, Nguyen along with 12 other suspects, were arrested on suspicion of stealing about $150,000 of merchandise from retailers in the South Bay.
Arrests in that case followed search warrants at two residences in San Jose, where the stolen items were found, according to detectives.
"This was not a small operation. This was quite substantial," said Capt. Brendan Omori with Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office. "[Nguyen's] definitely one of the leaders of the organization. He's what we refer to as the fence – an individual that receives stolen property, and ultimately compiles it for distribution and later resale."
SEE ALSO: Retail theft crackdown leads to recovery of goods worth millions
The sheriff’s office said its High Impact Team and Sheriff’s Emergency Response Team arrested the suspects with the assistance of the San Jose and Campbell police departments.
As part of the investigation, the High Impact Team worked closely with Home Depot, a leading retailer in the area.
Sheriff’s officials said most of the items recovered-- about $110,000 worth, were from Home Depot.
Roughly $40,000 in additional merchandise came from Target, Kohl’s, Lowe’s, Macys, and Sunglass Hut, investigators said.
"The collaborative effort between law enforcement and the private sector proved to be instrumental in disrupting the operations of organized retail theft rings," the sheriff's office explained.
Along with Duc Nguyen, other suspects identified in the retail theft case were Hoan Nguyen, Phuoc Nguyen, Dat Nguyen, Duyen Le, Dat Tran, Lisa Butler, Chau Vo, Su Nguyen, Anita Nguyen, Hoang Luu, and Tu Nguyen.
They face felony charges of grand theft, possession of stolen property, conspiracy, and organized retail theft.
"They were hauling things in and out. We didn't know what was going on, but it was people that didn't live there and they did not look very reputable," said one neighbor, who did not give a name.
Another neighbor described what he heard and saw during the raid. "It happened right when I get up to go to work. And I heard the flash-bangs right next to my room and I heard the commotion outside," said Trong Nguyen.
KTVU's Jesse Gary contributed to this report.
Santa Clara County sheriff's officials said $150,000 worth of stolen goods were discovered, leading to the arrest of 13 people. Most of the stolen items were from Home Depot, investigators said. (Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office )
Santa Clara County sheriff's officials recovered some $150,000 worth of stolen goods. 13 people were arrested in the case. (Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office )