LOS ANGELES — A 39-year-old Las Vegas man has been found guilty of the special circumstance murders of two men at a Chinatown social club in 2017.
A jury convicted Vinh Dao of two counts of first-degree murder yesterday after deliberating 1 1/2 hours, Deputy District Attorney Megan Loebl said. The jury also found true a special circumstance allegation of multiple murders; an allegation of using a deadly and dangerous weapon, a knife; and an allegation that Dao was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in 2002.
Sentencing is scheduled for May 22. Dao faces life in prison without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty.
On Jan. 26, 2017, Dao entered the Hop Sing Tong Benevolent Association in Los Angeles where he disrupted a mahjong game. He began arguing with Kim Kong Yun, 64, before stabbing the man to death, according to court testimony.
The defendant then fatally stabbed Tony Young, 64, when he attempted to help the first victim.
Dao had been a member of the club several years earlier and was acquainted with some of those who were present at the time of the crime.
He was arrested the next day.
