ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Four people were sentenced to multiple life terms and 26 years in prison for charges related to murder, a violent gang enterprise, and a drug trafficking conspiracy operating in Virginia, California, and several other states, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Court documents revealed that 25-year-old Peter Le and 26-year-old Young Yoo, both of Fairfax County, along with Joseph Lamborn and Tony Le, both 28 years old of California, were members of a Northern Virginia street gang called the Reccless Tigers, associated with a California gang West Side Asian Boyz.
The gang allegedly distributed thousands of pounds of marijuana as well as other THC products, cocaine, ecstasy, and prescription drugs with many of the customers being middle and high school students.
Over the years, members of the gang engaged in persistent intimidation and retaliation against people who did not pay their drug debts by attacking homes with Molotov cocktails and even a drive-by shooting during the early morning hours in Fairfax, Stafford, and Prince William counties, court records explained. Also, Peter Le vandalized homes and engaged in physical assaults against those who owed drug debts or were suspected of cooperating with law enforcement.
Reccless Tigers members have also been connected to two homicides. The first homicide occurred at one of the gang’s house parties in April 2016. The second happened on Feb. 1, 2019.
During the 2019 homicide, the victim, Brandon White, owed Yoo thousands of dollars for marijuana he had received while he was a juvenile in 2013-14. A year before his death, White was assaulted over the drug debt by David Nguyen. The Fairfax County Police Department arrested and charged Nguyen with robbery and malicious wounding. As the criminal case progressed, White was subpoenaed to testify against Nguyen which resulted in his life being threatened by gang members.
After testifying, and refusing the gang's offer, White was kidnapped at a Fairfax County shopping mall, drove to a wooded area in Richmond, where Peter Le, Yoo, and Lamborn then repeatedly stabbed White in his face and other areas, and ultimately shot him three times in the back. White was left in the woods and died from his injuries, according to the DOJ.
Twenty-one defendants have pleaded guilty to federal charges and have been sentenced. Three defendants are fugitives.
The four individuals were sentenced Monday and Thursday for the crimes.