A federal appeals court has thrown out the murder-related convictions of Hoang Xuan Le, a Fountain Valley man found guilty of killing a drug associate aboard a boat off Dana Point Harbor. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the trial judge should have declared a mistrial rather than replacing a juror who experienced a mental health crisis during deliberations, a decision that means Le, who was sentenced to life in federal prison, could now face a new trial for the 2019 killing of Tri “James” Minh Dao.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, consisting of Circuit Judges Michelle T. Friedland, Danielle J. Forrest, and Roopali H. Desai, issued the ruling on October 15. The panel vacated Le's convictions for first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of murder, sending the case back for a new trial, according to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The appellate panel determined that the district court made an error by replacing a distressed juror. This juror had reported being in crisis after disagreements with fellow jurors, and the court should have instead declared a mistrial, as detailed by ABA Journal.
The ABA Journal's reporting indicated that the juror's dismissal was connected to her views on the merits of the case against Le. This connection proved fatal to the conviction under established 9th Circuit precedent. Writing for the panel, Judge Friedland explained that the dismissal was problematic precisely because it originated from the juror's stance on the case, rather than a neutral, unrelated reason. She warned that allowing a juror to be removed after facing pressure from the majority during deliberations would create “perverse incentives” and undermine the constitutional right to a jury, per the same ABA Journal account of her opinion.
The panel's reasoning for this decision references the 9th Circuit's 1999 ruling in United States v. Symington. This precedent holds that a trial judge cannot dismiss a deliberating juror if there is any “reasonable possibility” that the request or cause for removal stems from the juror's views on the merits of the case. The appellate panel concluded that the court treated this standard as a clear guideline to protect the Sixth Amendment right to a unanimous verdict.
Notably, the appellate panel also found that Le's trial counsel consenting to replace the holdout juror with an alternate did not prevent the appeal. The court ruled that a criminal defendant cannot waive a Sixth Amendment challenge when juror removal compromises jury unanimity, determining that the error met the plain error standard necessary for reversal, even without a timely objection during the trial.
In the same ruling, the panel rejected a separate jurisdictional challenge from Le. It held that Section 901(a) of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 grants federal special maritime jurisdiction over crimes committed within three nautical miles of the U.S. coastline. This holding maintains federal prosecutors' authority over the killing, which occurred in the waters off Dana Point Harbor.
U.S. District Judge David O. Carter originally sentenced Le to life in federal prison in August 2023. This followed a federal jury trial that resulted in convictions for first-degree murder, conspiracy, and firearm offenses, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Federal prosecutors presented evidence that on October 15, 2019, Le lured Dao, identified as a 44-year-old marijuana dealer, onto a boat at Dana Point Harbor. The pretense for this trip was a late-night lobster fishing excursion. Prosecutors alleged Le then shot Dao and left him to drown over an estimated $30,000 to $40,000 drug debt.
Fishermen discovered Dao's body floating in the Pacific Ocean northwest of Oceanside on October 16, 2019, approximately 36 hours after the shooting. The San Diego County Medical Examiner determined that Dao drowned after sustaining gunshot wounds and blunt force trauma, as stated in the Justice Department's account.
Co-defendant Sheila Marie Ritze, who owned the vessel used in the killing, was convicted of second-degree murder and lying to federal investigators. Judge Carter sentenced Ritze to 262 months, which is nearly 22 years, in federal prison in April 2023, according to a report from Los Angeles Magazine.
When FBI agents arrested Le at his Fountain Valley home in December 2019, officers seized an AR-15-style rifle, a shotgun, and a crossbow from the residence, CBS Los Angeles reported at the time. Separately, in February 2022, Le pleaded guilty to eight federal drug-related felony counts involving the distribution of cocaine and methamphetamine. These drug convictions remain undisturbed by the appellate ruling.
The 9th Circuit's decision vacates Le's murder-related convictions that were tied to the mishandled juror dismissal. The case will return for a new trial on the maritime murder charges, with the appellate panel having firmly reaffirmed federal jurisdiction over the killing. The ABA Journal noted that its coverage also drew on additional reporting from Law360.