Crime & Safety

Alleged Illegal Gambling Suspects Trial to Start Wednesday

Vietnamese community believes alleged suspects were targeted in August raid.

With the trial of three of the set to start this morning, the Vietnamese American Chamber of Commerce and several others from the Vietnamese community are expected to come out in support of the accused.

Due H. Tran, an attorney representing those accused of illegal gambling in August at the , said his clients were falsely accused. Tran said he believes there are signs of racism in the case against his clients and he is confident the charges will be dropped.

“We feel they’re not guilty,” Tran said after the City Council meeting Monday night. “We think the news reports that they’re gangsters are false.”

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Members of the Northern Virginia Regional Gang Task Force arrested several people alleged to be involved in gang activity. The task force allegedly seized more than $1 million in a gambling raid on businesses at the Eden Center during an August raid. Tran said City of Falls Church police have frequently harassed business owners and shoppers. The City of Falls Church could not say if any official reports were made. Tran said he would like to see the police work with the people at the Eden Center by presenting written copies of Miranda Rights in Vietnamese during arrests, creating a drug free area at the center and helping start a town watch at the center.

Monday night, several Vietnamese business owners from the Eden Center attended the City Council meeting. During the meeting, several of the business owners, including Tran, gave several examples of how the city’s police allegedly harassed them in their shops.

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Vice Mayor David Snyder said he would like to see the city work and the VACOC work together to enhance their relationship and move forward. Snyder said he had not heard of the complaints against the police before the meeting.

“I think if you have a bunch of frat boys at a bar, they’re just frat boys,” Tran said. “If you have a bunch of Vietnamese people at a bar, they’re gangsters.”


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