September 17, 2008
Bernal Heights Liquor Store Owner Killed in Witness Retaliation Attack
Tong Van Le, 44,owner of Nasser Market in Bernal Heights and father of two, was murdered at his Novato home on Saturday. The widely assumed reason, according to SFPD, is because he testified against two suspects who robbed his store a month earlier. Police think that Le may have been followed home from his store to his house by the assailant(s). No arrests have been made. Earlier this year, if you recall, Justin Lee, 40, was gunned down on 26th Street after leaving his witness protection program safe house. (SFGate)
| 
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
email this
add to facebook
add to del.icio.usAdvertisement: SFist Continues Below!
Post a comment (Comment Policy)
It's Novato.
Oh good. Now State's witnesses are being killed. Within the year you're going to see "Escape from SF" movies.
foobaresef: Damn straight. That means the cops will investigate and the DA will prosecute. Doesn't hurt that Hamilton is a rather posh area of Novato. Does hurt that Kamela is such an impotent DA.
Time to stop pussyfooting around with criminals in San Francisco .... we need to stop enabling this shit.
Hooray! That makes 853 murders in San Francisco this year.
"Justin Lee, 40, was gunned down on 26th Street after leaving his witness protection program safe house. (SFGate)"
Yeah, after he left the safehouse and came BACK to the very neighborhood where he knew the gang members were gunning for him.
Kamala Harris has her faults, but no one can stop blatant stupidity.
I grew up in Marin and Novato is cop land. Used to be housing for most of the San Francisco police and fire departments. I'm guessing they will not appreciate a shooting in their yard.
The Justin Lee shooting was pretty much a suicide run.
I just...yeah. I just cried a little. This is profoundly sad. What a terrible end for such a brave man. My thoughts are with his family, and I mean that.
lanersg: Thankfully the SFPD won't be investigating this. The area where the shooting occurred (ex Hamilton AFB) is hardly cop land... it's more like yuppie land. Altho even if SFPD cared, I they could do much of anything.
It's funny to see consternation at the lack of cooperation SFPD gets. One only need look at this murder for a vivid example. Contrast that to the (last) murder on Alameda. They get the cooperation because there is (at least the perception of) follow through.
dude. fucked up.
Damn, this is terrible, but out continued failure to protect witnesses really reminds me of The Wire. Of course, that was sort of the point of the show, to remind us that these are real problems that are happening in our cities, but still. We can do better than Baltimore people.