The case of a medical student who was severely beaten and killed at Temple Nightclub (540 Howard Street) three years ago is finally nearing some possible resolution with two arrests in the last week. Ding Minh Nguyen, 36, of Richmond and Tracy Luong, 25, of San Jose have both been arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of 30-year-old Joe Olivares Hernandez, as Bay City News reports.
Nguyen was tracked down, all these years later, following an investigation that also led them to Luong. There was a connection between the two which will likely be revealed at trial, and Luong was identified by witnesses as having attacked a bystander with her high-heeled shoe during the brawl that killed Hernandez. The victim who took the beating from Luong's heel, who had been trying to intervene in the brawl on Hernandez's behalf, was apparently in the military and could not testify until recently because he was deployed abroad shortly after the incident.
Luong turned herself into police on Sunday following Nguyen's arrest on Friday. Both pleaded not guilty in court on Monday.
Hernandez was found unconscious on the floor of the nightclub on January 9, 2011 and died two days later from severe brain injuries. He had been a fourth year resident at UCSF.
35 minutes after the brawl that injured Hernandez, three other men were said to have attacked two men at the club, stabbing them with broken beer bottles.
Temple quickly stepped up security, stopped selling bottled beer, and installed ID scanners after the incident.
Previously: Man Dies After Fight Inside Downtown Nightclub
