SAN DIEGO (CNS) - A City Heights man behind bars for allegedly sexually assaulting and killing an Orange County man in San Diego last year was previously accused of sexually assaulting a young man in Arizona but served just six months after pleading guilty.
Philong Huynh, 39, pleaded not guilty last week to murder and sodomy charges in the January 2008 death of 23-year-old Dane Williams of Huntington Beach. He was arrested Sept. 10 after authorities said DNA evidence linked him to the case.
The defendant was charged with kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 19- year-old mentally challenged man in Maricopa County, Ariz., in 1998 but pleaded guilty to just unlawful imprisonment in 2005 following a lengthy effort to extradite him from San Diego to Arizona. He was sentenced to six months in jail and three years probation.
Soon after transferring his probation to San Diego, Huynh filed a federal lawsuit against the San Diego County Probation Department because he didn't want to go to sexual-offender counseling.
La Jolla psychiatrist Richard B. Hicks treated Huynh for schizophrenia and wrote a letter to the court stating that the defendant was not a danger to others and was in fact "passive" when it came to sexual partnerships.
Huynh lost the suit and was appealing the ruling when Williams' body was found.
In addition to murder and sodomy charges, Huynh faces a special circumstance allegation of sodomy, which makes him eligible for the death penalty if convicted of killing Williams, who had come to San Diego to attend a convention on behalf of a Costa Mesa-based skate and surfwear clothing company.
The intern disappeared after leaving the Hard Rock Cafe in the Gaslamp Quarter visibly intoxicated in the early morning hours of Jan. 26, 2008. Williams was found three days later wrapped in a blanket in a City Heights alley one block from where Huynh lived, said prosecutor Gretchen Means.
His underwear was missing, and there was evidence he had been sexually assaulted, according to the prosecutor.
The DNA evidence was uploaded into a criminal database and a match was found four months ago after a second young man alleged he had been sexually assaulted by the defendant, Means said.
The second man, whose name was withheld, said he and the defendant met in the Gaslamp and the two ended up drinking and going to the beach. Huynh allegedly gave the unidentified man two pills he said were Tylenol after the man complained of a headache. The man then woke up without his underwear in the defendant's bed the next morning, the prosecutor said.
A doctor diagnosed the man with benzodiazepine intoxication and said he had visible signs of sexual assault consistent with sodomy, the prosecutor said. Benzodiazepine is a central nervous system depressant.
DNA evidence from the sexual assault was matched to the defendant through DNA testing, and he was then linked to the Williams killing, Means said.
A status conference is scheduled for Tuesday, a readiness conference for Sept. 25 and a preliminary hearing for Sept. 29.
Previous story:SAN DIEGO - A City Heights man accused of sexually assaulting and killing an Orange County man in San Diego last year and sexually assaulting a second young man this year pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to murder and sodomy charges that could lead to the death penalty.
Philong Huynh, 39, was arrested last Thursday and charged with murdering and sodomizing 23-year-old Dane Williams of Huntington Beach.
The defendant also faces a special circumstance allegation of sodomy, which makes him eligible for the death penalty if convicted of killing Williams, who had come to San Diego to work a convention for a Costa Mesa-based skate and surfwear clothing company.
The intern disappeared after leaving the Hard Rock Cafe in the Gaslamp Quarter (map A) in the early morning hours of Jan. 26, 2008. Williams was intoxicated and was seen falling to the ground on all fours when he left the club, said prosecutor Gretchen Means.
The victim's body was found three days later in a City Heights alley (map B) one block from where Huynh lived (map C), the prosecutor said.
Williams' body was wrapped in a blanket and he was wearing a cap, neither of which belonged to him, Means said. The victim's underwear was missing and DNA evidence indicated he had been sexually assaulted, the prosecutor said.
The DNA was uploaded into a criminal database, but the suspect remained unidentified until four months ago, when a second young man came forward and said he had been sexually assaulted by the defendant, Means said.
Philong HuynhThe second man, whose name was withheld, said he met the defendant in the Gaslamp and the two ended up drinking and going to the beach. After telling Huynh he had a headache, he was given two pills he was told were Tylenol, then woke up without his underwear in the defendant's bed the next morning, the prosecutor said.
The man went to a doctor and was diagnosed with benzodiazepine intoxication and had visible signs of sexual assault, the prosecutor said.
Benzodiazepine is a central nervous system depressant, Means said.
DNA evidence collected from the second victim was matched to the defendant through DNA testing, and he was then linked to the Williams killing, Means said.
During a search of the defendant's home, pharmaceuticals were found, including a prescription for benzodiazepine in his name that was filled in January 2008 -- the same month Williams was assaulted and found dead, Means said.
In asking for no bail, the prosecutor told Judge Polly Shamoon that Huynh had family ties to Vietnam.
The judge scheduled a status conference for next Tuesday, a readiness conference for Sept. 25 and a preliminary hearing for Sept. 29.
District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis will decide later in the case whether the defendant will face the death penalty or life in prison without parole should he be convicted.
Police think there could be additional victims and ask that anyone with information about Huynh contact the SDPD homicide unit at 619-531-2293.
