Man Involved in Deadly OC Robbery Pleads Guilty

Man Involved in Deadly OC Robbery Pleads Guilty

by Contributing Editor

A 19-year-old man involved in a purse snatching that turned deadly when the victim was run over by a car as the assailants fled the scene pleaded guilty to robbery and was sentenced to five years in prison, according to court records obtained Monday.

Brad Maurice Brown Jr. of Hawthorne admitted one felony count of second-degree robbery on Friday in the West Justice Center in Westminster. He was given credit for spending 92 days in jail and received the maximum punishment.

Co-defendants Gregory Anthony Walker Jr., 19, and Giovanni Solomon Guy, 20, both of Los Angeles, are next due in court Aug. 7 for a pretrial hearing in the West Justice Center in Westminster.

Walker and Guy are charged with murder, with a special circumstance allegation of murder during the course of a robbery. The charges make them both eligible for the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole at a minimum if they are convicted. The two are also charged with committing crimes while out on bail on an unrelated case.

Guy was allegedly driving the robbery crew’s getaway car and Walker is accused of grabbing the victim’s purse, said Garden Grove police Lt. Carl Whitney.

Nga Ngoc Nguyen, 32, of Santa Ana, was walking with her sister in a parking lot at 13800 Brookhurst Blvd. about 9:45 a.m. May 8 when a car pulled alongside them and Walker allegedly tried to wrestle away the victim’s purse, Whitney said.

Nguyen’s arm became caught in the strap as Walker jumped into the vehicle as it was driving away, according to Whitney. Nguyen was run over by the car and was rushed to an area hospital, where she later died, Whitney said.

Walker was already facing charges of burglary and grand theft related for allegedly stealing from a Newport Beach store on Nov. 26. Walker has pleaded not guilty to those charges.

The suspects were under surveillance at the time of the purse snatching by Los Angeles County sheriff’s detectives, who trailed them and called Garden Grove police for help, Whitney said. The detectives had earlier informed Garden Grove police that they were conducting surveillance and asked officers to avoid the area, Whitney said.

The sheriff’s detectives followed the suspects in an unmarked car to the area of the Harbor (110) Freeway and Century Boulevard in South Los Angeles, where the three suspects jumped out and tried to flee on foot, but were quickly apprehended, Whitney said.

Detectives recovered some evidence at the scene, Whitney said.

During the pursuit, the suspects appeared to throw evidence onto the Garden Grove (22) Freeway, so police briefly closed the freeway to conduct a search, Whitney said.

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All credit goes to Contributing Editor
Originally published on https://mynewsla.com