Santa Rosa trio pleads no contest in abalone case

May. 18, 1999

By CLARK MASON
Press Democrat Staff Writer

Three Santa Rosa residents charged with conspiracy to poach abalone pleaded no contest Monday as part of a deal that will keep them out of prison.

The trio was part of an operation to remove abalone in the middle of the night with the aid of scuba gear. Taking abalone at night on the North Coast is prohibited and only snorkel gear is allowed for divers in the highly regulated sport.

Van Ky Do, 52, and Nam Ngo, 23, were arrested in October after wardens with night-vision binoculars said they watched them twice harvest abalone in the waters off Reef Campground near Fort Ross.

Van Ky Do's wife, Doanh Thi Nguyen, 43, also was charged with conspiracy after undercover officers arranged three abalone purchases with Do and she allegedly participated in the transactions.

According to state Fish and Game investigators, Nguyen said she had as many as 10 divers that could provide abalone for her to sell.

Undercover Fish and Game wardens spent weeks shadowing the suspects as part of an elaborate sting that ended sooner than planned because of concern the unlawful night dives could ravage the abalone population.

As part of the negotiated settlement reached with prosecutors, Do will be subject to a maximum one year in jail in exchange for his no-contest plea. He also faces a fine of $20,000 and has to forfeit a new van he used to go diving.

Ngo will face no more than six months in jail and a maximum fine of $10,000.

Nguyen will be subject to no more than 60 days jail time and a maximum $10,000 fine.

Judge Patricia Gray is scheduled to sentence the trio June 15.

A ban on sport and commercial abalone harvesting south of San Francisco that went into effect in 1997 has put increasing pressure on the North Coast, the last place in the United States that has a sizeable abalone resource.

Authorities say the size of the poaching operation was not as big as others in recent years that claimed more abalone, but it still was sophisticated.

During the undercover investigation, the wardens said they bought 55 abalone, ranging in price from $30 to $40 apiece.

Do previously was on probation for a misdemeanor abalone poaching conviction from 1995, when 23 divers were arrested for night-time harvesting, according to Prosecutor Brooke Halsey Jr.

Do also was cited in Mendocino County for violating abalone restrictions, but forfeited his bail and paid a fine, according to Fish and Game officials.

Do's attorney, Jonathan Steele, noted that if Do serves his sentence and probation successfully, the felony conviction can be reduced to a misdemeanor.