Man Convicted In "Chaotic" 2022 Highway Shooting, Faces Life Sentence

NAPA VALLEY, CA — A jury convicted a man who pleaded not guilty to shooting a driver and carjacking a truck on a Napa County highway in 2022 and who had sought to represent himself during the trial.

Tuong Nguyen, 45, was convicted Monday of attempted murder, carjacking, and six more gun-related charges according to the Napa County District Attorney's Office. The additional charges include shooting from a motor vehicle and at a moving vehicle, felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, and carrying a loaded firearm not registered to the carrier.

Jurors also accepted special allegations against Nguyen, including the intentional discharge of a gun, causing great bodily injury, and targeting a vulnerable victim.

Jurors are scheduled to reconvene Wednesday to decide on additional allegations, such as committing increasingly serious felonies and having past “strikes” for violent crimes.

Nguyen faces lifetime imprisonment.

The "chaotic" chain of events leading to Nguyen's arrest and conviction began during the morning rush hour on Feb. 18, 2022, according to a statement by the Napa County District Attorney's Office.

The Napa County Sheriff's Office received reports at about 6:40 a.m. of a reckless driver in the American Canyon area and, 8 minutes later, a shooting was reported at state Highways 29 and 221, sheriff's office Spokesperson Henry Wofford told Patch at the time.

Nyugen was driving erratically, weaving into traffic, on Hwy 29 in American Canyon. He approached a pick-up truck driver who was on his way to work. Nguyen pulled out his gun and shot at the driver, Robert Abreu, a 58-year-old American Canyon resident, shattering the truck's rear window.

The victim was shot in the head, but was able to call 911.

Nguyen then fled toward First Street in downtown Napa, where he commandeered a white Toyota Tacoma, whose driver — a Napa restaurant chef — was on his way to work at the Tarla Mediterranean Grill. The victim in the carjacking was not injured.

Officers stopped the stolen vehicle 12 minutes later on SR-29 at Streblow Drive and arrested Nguyen.

Napa Valley prosecutors told the jury that at the time of the Napa shooting, Nguyen was on parole for two armed robberies in Las Vegas in July and August 2018 involving a Vietnamese restaurant and a nail salon, according to the Napa Valley Register.

Nguyen’s criminal case became bogged down over court disputes over his mental fitness to stand trial. He was treated at Napa State Hospital and twice ruled incompetent to face charges, only to be later deemed sane again, most recently on June 16.

Nguyen also sought to dismiss the charges in a January 2023 habeas corpus petition, which a Napa judge rejected as incoherent and presenting no clear rationale for dismissal.

Investigators spent several hours working to determine whether Nguyen was responsible for both the shooting and the carjacking. Nguyen was booked into jail at 12:56 p.m. on suspicion of attempted murder, carjacking and felon in possession of a firearm. He was held without bail.

Patch editors Kat Schuster and Maggie Fusek contributed to this report.