Slain deputy raised in Modesto

16-year-old arrested in detective's death in south Sacramento

By CHRISTINA JEWETT
and RYAN LILLIS
and EVE HIGHTOWER
ehightower@modbee.com

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SACRAMENTO -- In the chilly rain just after midnight Thursday, Sacramento sheriff's SWAT officers poured from an armored truck and surrounded a beige tract house across the street from a middle school in the southwest portion of the city, one of the city's poorest neighborhoods.

Inside, the department's most wanted suspect emerged, a bleary-eyed and tiny 16-year-old looking "terrified," an eyewitness said.

Officers looked at the "wanted" flier with his photo and scrutinized the boy: He was the one.The teen, who is being held in Juvenile Hall, is suspected of shooting Sacramento sheriff's Detective Vu Nguyen on Wednesday afternoon during a chase through south Sacramento back yards.

Sacramento Bee Staff Photo - Sacramento Sheriff's deputy Vu Nguyen, a gang officer, was killed in the line of duty Wednesday.

The teen was not armed when arrested, but sheriff's officials are conducting ballistics tests on several guns found during the investigation, including one found soon after Nguyen was shot.

Grief and mourning are just beginning over the loss of Nguyen, who grew up in Mo- desto, attending Burbank Elementary and Mark Twain Junior High schools before graduating from Modesto High School in 1989.

His family wept inconsolably Wednesday night. He was married in April. Funeral plans may be settled next week after Christmas.

News of the Nguyen's death shocked those who knew him as a child. He was a member of Modesto High's football team, yearbook staff and student government, according to family friends.

It's been 18 years since Arlen Peters coached Nguyen on the Modesto High football team. But he remembers the former running back, outside linebacker and defensive back.

"He wasn't a star, but he was the kind of guy you wanted on your team because he was a hard worker and dependable," Peters said.

Peters recalls that Nguyen was a small guy, but he was strong because he worked out hard.

"You really get to know (the athletes) well when you spend all summer in the weight room and coach them all season," Peters said. "(Nguyen) was quiet and disciplined."

When Roberta McReynolds heard a Sacramento County sheriff's detective had been shot, she stopped to pray as she always does when she hears sirens or feels an emergency responder is putting his or her life in jeopardy to do a job.

"Little did I know I was praying for a friend of my son's," McReynolds said.

Her son, Michael O'Brien, grew up with Nguyen. Although they lost contact through the years, they followed similar career paths and became sheriff's deputies, O'Brien in Nevada's Washoe County, which includes Reno.

"It just hit me especially hard since I have a son in law enforcement, too," McReynolds said.

Chano Flores grew up with Nguyen. He was junior class vice president in 1988, and Flores was treasurer.

According to Flores, Nguyen was born in Vietnam. Flores said Nguyen had a great family, too.

"His mother and dad were the nicest, kindest people. They loved having company over," Flores said.

"He was a pure, good person with a fun- loving spirit. He was just one of the guys and never said a bad thing about anyone," Flores said. "I remember all of us wrestling in the pool in my back yard. We'd pick our favorite (World Wrestling Federation) guy. That's the first memory I had when I heard what happened.

"I can't believe it happened to a person like him, to someone who just wanted to give," Flores added.

Suspect called gang 'wanna-be'

Detectives and prosecutors worked Thursday to build a case against the teen, who was described by one friend as a gang "wanna-be" and by Sheriff John McGinness as a small but ruthless person.