Inmate gets 10 years in prison for killing cellmate

An Orange County jail inmate who killed his cellmate was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in state prison.

Lan Huu Pham, as part of a plea deal, admitted to felony counts of voluntary manslaughter and assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury in connection to the 2014 killing of of 49-year-old Thiep Truong Nguyen at the Theo Lacy jail facility in Orange.

Pham, who was jailed on suspicion of possessing drug paraphanalia, and Nguyen, who was arrested for open warrants for assault, burglary and child endangerment, were sharing a cell at the maximum security jail facility in November and December of 2014. Neither had a history of conflict with other inmates or jail staff, according to court records.

According to a report outlining the results of an Orange County District Attorney investigation into Nguyen’s death, the two men got into an altercation in a locked cell shortly before noon on Dec. 16, 2014.

A surveillance camera outside the cell captured part of the fight, according to the DA report, including Pham punching Nguyen in the face.

The fight lasted about 20 seconds, according to the DA report, and ended with Nguyen falling against a wall, sliding down and ending up in a sitting position. Investigators do not believe that Nguyen struck Pham during the confrontation.

After the assault, Pham pressed an emergency intercom button, and told arriving jail officials that Nguyen had fallen to the ground and struck his head, according to the DA report.

Nguyen  was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead a day later. An autopsy determined his death was the result of multiple blunt force trauma.

Pham, as part of his plea deal, admitted to killing Nguyen “upon a sudden quarrel and heat of passion,” according to the report.

The district attorney’s office, which routinely investigates in-custody jail deaths, determined that the killing was not a result of negligence by jail officials.