Merced man pleads no contest as accessory in homicide case

A 25-year-old Merced man earlier this week pleaded no contest to reduced charges in connection with a 2012 alleged gang homicide.

Sou Saeteurn was accused of driving a getaway vehicle Sept. 9, 2012 , the night 33-year-old Kai Saelee was shot and killed outside his home in the area of G Street and Childs Avenue in Merced, according to Merced Superior Court records.

His cousin, Lo Saeteurn, 22, has been charged with killing Saelee. Lo Saeteurn is also charged with murder in connection with the unrelated death in 2011 of Destry Woods, who was gunned down in the driveway of the Sunnyside Apartments in the 900 block of D Street, court records show.

Sou Saeteurn had been charged with murder, but the Merced County District Attorney’s Office dropped the charge Wednesday in exchange for a plea to being an accessory, Chief Deputy District Attorney Rob Carroll confirmed.

Carroll said the plea agreement comes with the condition that Sou Saeteurn must continue providing “truthful testimony” in the case.

The veteran prosecutor said Sou Saeteurn has, from the beginning, maintained he did not know his cousin intended to shoot Saelee. As the case progressed, Carroll said, investigators located information they believe confirms Sou Saeteurn’s version of events.

“Long before he spoke with any attorneys, or ever reached any agreements, he told the police what happened and has been consistent in his account of what happened this whole time,” Carroll said.

Sou Saeteurn testified at a Sept. 10 preliminary hearing, saying he was waiting inside his vehicle for his cousin late on a Sunday night in 2012 when he heard about five shots fired and saw his cousin running back to the vehicle.

At the hearing, Sou Saeteurn told the court he did not know his cousin was armed or had planned any violence. Lo Saeteurn was ordered to stand trial, following the hearing. He is due back in court Sept. 24.

Carroll said the plea agreement with Sou Saeteurn was reached after the preliminary hearing. Mark V. Bacciarini ordered Sou Saeteurn to return to court Dec. 16 for sentencing. He faces up to three years in the county jail.

This story was originally published September 18, 2014 at 11:50 PM.