NoVA Street Gang Members Convicted Of Murder, Drug Trafficking Charges

CENTREVILLE, VA — A federal jury convicted four men who were connected to a street gang founded in Centreville on several charges related to murder and drug trafficking in Virginia, California and other states, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia said Friday.

Peter Le, 24, of Dunn Loring and Young Yoo, 26, of Centreville were among the men convicted by the jury. Joseph Lamborn, 28, and Tony Le, 28, both of California, also were convicted.

The men were members of a Northern Virginia Street gang called the Reccless Tigers, which was affiliated with a California gang called the West Side Asian Boyz. The gang, which originated in Centerville in 2011, distributed thousands of pounds of marijuana as well as other THC products, cocaine, ecstasy and prescription drugs, according to court records and evidence presented at trial.

Many of the gang’s customers were middle and high school students in Northern Virginia and college students at a number of Virginia universities, prosecutors alleged.

The trial was held in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria, with Judge Liam O’Grady presiding over the trial.

According to court records, Brandon White owed Yoo about $10,000 for marijuana he had obtained from Yoo. In August 2018, White was severely beaten by a Reccless Tigers gang member, David Nguyen, because of the debt.

Nguyen was arrested by Fairfax County Police and charged with robbery and malicious wounding. The gang was aware that White had been subpoenaed to testify against Nguyen at a preliminary hearing, and attempted to pay him if he would refuse to testify.

White was threatened that he would be killed if he testified. White refused the gang's offer, and he testified against Nguyen on Nov. 19, 2018.

On Jan. 31, 2019, and continuing into the early morning hours of February 1, 2019, White was abducted at a shopping mall in Fairfax County and then killed two hours later in a wooded area of Richmond by Peter Le, Yoo and Lamborn, according to prosecutors.

The evidence at trial indicated that the gang also engaged in a pattern of intimidation and retaliation against other people who did not pay their drug debts and anyone who was believed to have cooperated with law enforcement. Homes in Fairfax, Stafford, and Prince William counties were attacked with Molotov cocktails and vandalized on numerous occasions, forcing homeowners in some cases to move.

At trial, Peter Le was convicted of conspiracy to engage in racketeering, narcotics trafficking and related narcotics offenses, kidnapping, murder, and money laundering. Lamborn was convicted of conspiracy to engage in racketeering, narcotics trafficking, kidnapping, and murder. Yoo was convicted of conspiracy to engage in racketeering, narcotics trafficking, kidnapping, and murder. Tony Le was convicted of conspiracy to engage in racketeering and narcotics trafficking.

Peter Le, Young Yoo, and Joseph Lamborn face mandatory life sentences when sentenced on Sept. 9. Tony Le faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment when he is sentenced on Sept. 9, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

Prosecutors said 24 other people have been charged in connection with the investigation of the Reccless Tigers. Sixteen defendants have pleaded guilty to federal charges and have been sentenced. Nine defendants, five who pleaded guilty earlier in addition to the four convicted today, are pending sentencing. Three defendants are fugitives.

The investigation involved federal and local law enforcement officials, including members of the FBI, Fairfax County Police Department, Prince William County Police Department and Falls Church Police Department.