Four arrested in killing of father, two sons in South Sacramento
Four people have been arrested in connection with a home invasion robbery last week that left a father and his two adult sons shot to death in a South Sacramento home, authorities said Tuesday.
The first capture came on Sunday morning, when police arrested and booked 18-year-old Amanda Tucker on suspicion of robbery in connection with the triple killing, jail records show. That same day, detectives captured 21-year-old Elijah Johnson at a motel just off Interstate 80 and the Sacramento River. He was jailed on suspicion of murder Monday, records show.
Later that day, police took a 17-year-old girl into custody, also on suspicion of robbery. The final arrest came Tuesday, records show, when detectives found 24-year-old Daniel Nguyen at an apartment complex. He was jailed on suspicion of murder, authorities said.
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The teens were not accused of murder based on “the knowledge of what they thought was going to happen at the scene and their cooperation,” said Sacramento County Sheriff’s Lt. Tim Curran.
He said that the incident escalated from a home invasion robbery to a triple-homicide in a matter of minutes and indicated that not everyone involved expected it to turn so violent.
Though authorities wouldn’t elaborate on what the group was looking to steal, they did say the victims were targeted and at least one of them knew one of the suspects.
“It was a lifestyle issue. One of the victims made poor choices…regarding illegal activity he was involved in,” Curran said without elaborating further.
According to investigators, the group forced their way into a home on Ardith Drive on Thursday morning and killed 56-year-old Thanh Le and his sons Dong Le, 32, and Tien Le, 21. Two others inside the home were unharmed, said Sgt. Tony Turnbull.
The gunmen wore dark masks, dark clothing and escaped in a dark-colored compact car, the Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.
Tucker is being held on $500,000 bail and was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday. The identity of the juvenile was not released because of her age. Johnson is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday and Nguyen on Thursday. Both men are being held without bail.
For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna.
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