A superior court judge has sentenced a 36-year-old-man, believed to be the brains behind a drug trafficking group, to nearly a decade in jail.
The trial for Tho Truong wrapped up with Superior Court Judge John Fregeau’s verdict on Friday. Truong pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and forcible confinement to incidents that took place in 2009, but pleaded not guilty to four other charges of forcible confinement, aggravated assault, use of a firearm and kidnapping.
In one of those incidents, a man was allegedly thrown into a hockey bag at a hotel and then had his finger cut off. In another incident, a woman allegedly had her tooth pulled.
Fregeau found Truong guilty to charges of aggravated assault, unlawful confinement and kidnapping and sentenced him to nine and a half years. Fregeau awarded Truong for his time in custody on a two-for-one credit and reduced the sentence to five years concurrent.
He also found Truong guilty of using an imitation firearm and sentenced him to an additional 18 months, which he will serve following his five years.
Fregeau also imposed a 20-year weapons ban and ordered Truong to provide a DNA sample.
The Superior Court Judge said Truong was involved in drug trafficking and was the brains of the operation.
“It’s not in our interest or the public’s interest to impose a sentence that will crush you,” Fregeau said prior to handing down his verdict.
“The sentence must be a deterrent for you and other individuals. Mr. Truong, good luck.”
Defense attorney Peter Thorning said Truong had become a changed man during his time in custody and with a good family foundation to support him, he is a good candidate for rehabilitation.
“Being in jail is a very terrible thing,” Thorning said. “It’s in my opinion not the kind of thing that assists a person in their rehabilitation. It’s demeaning, demoralizing and people lose contact with the outside world. People are branded as criminals forever more.”
He said Truong was taking steps to better himself by taking classes in computers and business.
Thorning said he wanted to look over the judge’s ruling in order to see why he decided to impose the sentence he did. He added that he thought the number was a bit high.
