For Immediate Release: July 18, 2008

NEW ORLEANS MEN ARRESTED IN FOUNTAIN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, FOR CONSPIRING TO COMMIT HOME INVASION ROBBERY

On July 14, 2008, at approximately 11:00 p.m., agents with the FBI arrested two men for conspiracy to distribute narcotics and to commit robbery and other crimes at a residence in Fountain Valley, California, announced Salvador Hernandez, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI in Los Angeles and Paul Sorrell, Chief of the Fountain Valley Police Department. Vo Duong Tran, 40, and Yu Sung Park, 35, both residents of New Orleans, were in federal court Thursday for a continuance of their court appearance. Both were denied bail.   Tran and Park were taken into custody Monday night in Fountain Valley after arriving in California from Louisiana and Illinois, respectively, and participating in an undercover meeting with a confidential informant and an undercover FBI agent. During the meeting, Tran and Park allegedly made final preparations to enter a designated home to steal cash and drugs, and to potentially kill any occupants who might witness the crime and testify against them. Tran allegedly drove by the target residence where he and an accomplice allegedly planned to conduct the home invasion robbery; in addition, the defendants distributed ballistic vests and discussed with undercover sources and an undercover FBI agent the details of how the crime would be carried out.   Shortly after finalizing arrangements for the robbery, Tran and Park were arrested by agents with the FBI’s S.W.A.T. while entering their vehicle. During subsequent searches of the vehicle and Tran's hotel room, agents found assault rifles and handguns, silencers, temporary restraining devices commonly known as “zip-ties,” a cache of ammunition and ballistic vests.   Tran, a former FBI agent, was assigned to the FBI’s Chicago Field Office from 1992 to 2003, and was terminated by the government for cause.   The investigation of Tran and others was initiated in November 2006 by detectives with the Fountain Valley Police Department in Orange County, California. Fountain Valley detectives uncovered evidence of Tran’s alleged criminal activity while investigating a large-scale check fraud operation, as well as evidence indicating that Tran was possibly using his status as a former law enforcement officer with the FBI to further his criminal activity. Fountain Valley detectives then contacted the FBI and a joint investigation was initiated.   According to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, Tran conversed telephonically and in person to an FBI confidential witness in Orange County, California, beginning in January 2008. During their conversations, Tran revealed to the source his involvement in criminal activities and made arrangements with the FBI source to obtain weapons and other equipment necessary to carry out the home invasion robbery, according to the complaint.   Tran and Park are currently charged with conspiracy to commit robbery and other violent crimes, and conspiracy to distribute narcotics. They were remanded to federal custody yesterday after an appearance before a U.S. Magistrate in Santa Ana, California.    This investigation is the result of a joint effort by the Fountain Valley Police Department and the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. Considerable assistance was provided throughout the investigation by the Regional Narcotics Suppression Program (a narcotics task force based in Orange County), the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Chicago and Louisiana, the ATF in Los Angeles and the FBI in Louisiana and Chicago. Tran and Park will be prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office in the Central District of California.     MEDIA CONTACT: FBI: Laura Eimiller: 310 996-3343 U.S. Attorney’s Office: Thom Mrozek: 213 894-6947 Fountain Valley Police Department: 714 593-4485