A Stanislaus County criminal grand jury has indicted three teenagers accused of murder in the shooting deaths of a Modesto couple and their adult daughter during an apparent robbery at their family's market last year.
Defendants Oloth Dicky Phommahaxay, 19, Sophon Theoun Ting, 16, and Chris Douangkham, 17, all of Modesto, are charged with three counts of murder in the deaths of Vanh and Phouvieng Thammavongsa and their daughter, Nanci Thammavongsa.
The indictment means the criminal case skips the preliminary hearing phase and moves to trial; however, it's not likely the trial will happen anytime soon.
The indictment remained sealed until Tuesday morning's hearing in Stanislaus County Superior Court. Phommahaxay, Ting and Douangkham were in the courtroom briefly when Judge Marie Silveira announced that the court had received the indictment.
The judge scheduled the defendants to return to court Feb. 23 for an arraignment hearing. Defense attorneys then will have an opportunity to request transcripts from the grand jury proceedings and challenge the indictment.
The three teenage defendants pleaded not guilty when they first were arraigned last year. They remain in custody as they await their trial. The district attorney's office will prosecute Ting and Douangkham as adults.
Stanislaus County District Attorney Birgit Fladager has said she would like to seek a criminal indictment — a rarely used legal strategy in California — more often. She wants to use the tactic to jump-start cases bogged down in the preliminary phase, which can suffer delays and scheduling conflicts when a case has multiple defendants each with a defense attorney.
Robert Winston, Ting's defense attorney, said after Tuesday's hearing that he doesn't understand why prosecutors sought the indictment.
"It's not an old case," Winston said. "Nobody was dragging their feet."
Deputy District Attorney Marlisa Ferreira said the case had slowed. The preliminary hearing date had not been scheduled, and she said at the pace the case was moving it was not likely a preliminary hearing would happen before the end of the year.
"A case like this needs to move along," Ferreira said. "This seems to be the best answer with a case of this nature."
Police investigators have said the defendants are known gang members, so gang enhancements have been added to their charges. A criminal complaint filed in late January says the defendants are members of the CWA Crips street gang.
A gang enhancement is added to charges when authorities believe a crime was committed for the benefit of a street gang. The enhancement can result in longer prison sentences.
For 15 years, Vanh Thammavongsa, 55, and his wife, Phouvieng Thammavongsa, 49, had owned and operated V&V Oriental Market at 1320 Yosemite Blvd., east of Santa Cruz Avenue in Modesto.
Nanci Thammavongsa, 28, suffered a developmental disability at birth. She required constant care and was usually with her parents at the market.
Vanh Thammavongsa was pronounced dead where he was found at the market after the Jan. 25 shooting. His wife and daughter were taken by ambulance to a Modesto hospital. His wife died at the hospital later that day.
Nanci Thammavongsa died after two days on life-support at the hospital. The family since has closed the market for good.
Ferreira said the availability and costs involved in gathering some out-of-state witnesses to testify in a preliminary hearing was a factor in choosing to seek the indictment.
Cross-examination and arguments in court by multiple attorneys can lengthen preliminary hearings and leave witnesses waiting, sometimes several hours, in courthouse hallways.
Defense attorneys can't cross-examine witnesses in front of the grand jury, and they're not allowed to attend the proceedings held behind closed doors. The defense attorneys, however, can provide evidence to exonerate their clients.
Ferreira said witnesses in this latest gang-related case now will only have to testify once in open court when the case reaches trial.
A judge makes the final ruling in a preliminary hearing, where hearsay testimony is allowed and the evidence is presented in court. For instance, a police officer can testify about what witnesses reported and the evidence collected.
In the criminal grand jury option, jurors decide whether a trial is needed. Hearsay testimony is not allowed with a grand jury, so witnesses have to testify.
Bee staff writer Rosalio Ahumada can be reached at rahumada@modbee.com or (209) 578-2394.
Video of suspects from January 2011 court date
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