Abalone poachers sentenced

Jul. 1, 1999

By CLARK MASON
Press Democrat Staff Writer

Three Santa Rosa residents convicted of conspiracy to poach abalone were sentenced to jail Wednesday and ordered to pay thousands of dollars in fines despite a defense attorney's attempt to portray the Vietnamese-born defendants as victims of "ethnocentricity.''

Judge Patricia Gray dismissed the argument that Van Ky Do, 52, his wife Doanh Thi Nguyen, 44, and their neighbor, Nam Huu Ngo, 23, deserved leniency because they were raised in a country where environmental protection pales in comparison to the need to get food and shelter.

"Being hungry and being able to live will always remain important to the person who struggled early in life,'' defense attorney Bernabe Hernandez said as he unsuccessfully sought to have the judge impose a 90-day jail sentence rather than the six months she gave Ngo.

Hernandez said his client was raised in a different culture, without the luxury of understanding that the mountains and seas are a treasure and a resource.

But Gray interrupted Hernandez, saying Ngo "stole abalone from the ocean and sold it. It wasn't on the barbecue grill, or table. Why are you likening it to putting food on the table?''

Ngo told probation officer Robert Bulwa he was raised in Vietnam "where people believe survival is more important than ecology,'' but Bulwa said in the report the defendant came here when he was 8 and has had plenty of time to assimilate local values.

In addition to the jail sentence, the judge also imposed a fine of $3,000 on Ngo and ordered him to do 100 hours of community service.

The most stringent sentence -- one year in jail and a $20,000 fine -- was handed to Do, who has three prior misdemeanor convictions for taking more than the four-abalone limit per diver.

Gray said she was bothered that Do claimed he was entrapped and victimized and said that he appeared to be in total denial about the wrongfulness of his act.

She sentenced Do's wife, Nguyen, to 60 days in jail and imposed a $5,000 fine along with 100 hours community service.

Nguyen's attorney, Deputy Public Defender Robert Faux, attempted to get the judge to lower the fine, saying it will be a financial burden on the couple, who live in subsidized housing and have three children, one of whom is severely disabled.

But Prosecutor Brooke Halsey Jr. said defense attorneys were exaggerating the poverty of the defendants. He said the couple was making lots of money from selling the illegal abalone and were driving a new van and saving to buy a house.

As part of their sentence, Do had to forfeit a 1995 van used in the abalone poaching.

The trio previously pleaded no contest to felony conspiracy to poach abalone in exchange for the prosecution's agreement not to seek prison terms.

The three defendants were part of an operation that removed abalone in the middle of the night near Fort Ross with the aid of scuba gear. Taking abalone at night is prohibited and only snorkel gear is allowed in the tightly regulated sport.

Undercover state Fish and Game wardens spent weeks shadowing the suspects. Authorities said the poaching operation was smaller than others in recent years, but still was sophisticated.

In addition to the jail sentences, Gray also imposed strict probation guidelines for the defendants when they are released from custody. The conditions include staying 100 yards away from the ocean and not owning or possessing dive gear.