My name is Duong Cao.

My incarceration is the result of being convicted on January 22, 1998 of Attempted 1st Degree Murder and am currently serving a thirty (30) years sentence at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola.

In my case, an attached witness told to the Police I was the person who got out of the vehicle with the handgun, not him! That I was the shooter, not him! However, when the Louisiana Police Crime Lab tested our hands for "gunshot residue" to determine who fired the weapon, they discovered he was positive for this residue. My hands were clear!

If you are interested in supporting me via legal representation, donation, and/or communication, you may contact me at the below address.

Thank you.

CASE'S SUMMARY

This case results from a shooting near Aggie's Skateland on Main Street outside of Houma, Louisiana on May 9, 1997. On that date, the victim, Ms. Cassandra Lassaigne, was shot and wounded by a perpetrator who got out of a vehicle driven by Mr. Duong Cao along with Mr. Khai Le and Mr. Thanh Nguyen. Approximately seven minutes after the shooting, the State Police Officer pulled Mr. Cao over. All three suspects were then arrested and taken into custody.

Immediately a swab gunshot residue test was tested on all three suspects' hands. It was then sent off to the Louisiana Police Crime Lab in Baton Rouge for results. All three suspects were then charged with Attempted 1st Degree Murder. However, exactly three days after the arrest, both juveniles' (Mr. Thanh Nguyen age 15 and Mr. Khai Le age 14) charges were completely dropped and they were freed. Mr. Cao, the only adult (age 19), stayed in jail awaiting trial.

Exactly five months and twenty-one days later, the gunshot residue test results came back indicating the gunshot discharge gaseous powder was on the right palm and left palm of Thanh Nguyen. The District Attorney, then contacted Mr. Thanh Nguyen to testify. Mr. Nguyen agreed to testify at trial that Mr. Cao is the shooter.

Mr. Jim Churchman / Firearms Expert

At trial, an expert for the State named Mr. Jim Churchman, testified that he examined the residue swab/kit done on the hands of Khai Le, Duong Cao, and Thanh Nguyen. He admitted that the hand swab test done on Mr. Cao and Mr. Le failed to detect the presence of gunshot residue. Significantly, Mr. Churchman confirmed that the firearm discharge residue was on both the right and left palms of Thanh Nguyen.

Mr. Jason Chauvin / Eyewitness

Mr. Jason Chauvin was a passenger in an oncoming vehicle testified, as an eyewitness, that he saw an oriental man hop out of a green two-door sports car. As he testified, this oriental male exited the vehicle on the driver side, walked to the back of the car, cupped a weapon in both hands, and fired the gun. Therefore, he wrote down the car's license plate number and contacted the police. Mr. Chauvin was escorted to the crime scene, where the green two-door vehicle was pulled over. He identified the green two-door sports car, but he could not identify which Asian was the shooter.

Mr. Jody Blanchard / State Police

State Police Mr. Jody Blanchard, who pulled the vehicle over, testified that he witnessed the passenger side door open, and a black object fall to the shoulder of the road before the vehicle stopped. He testified that Mr. Cao was the driver and that two occupants were on the passenger side. He testified that he helped the deputies discover the black object, which was identified as a 9mm semi-automatic handgun.

Mr. Thanh Nguyen / Co-Defendant

Mr. Cao's co-defendant, Mr. Thanh Nguyen, testified that he has no knowledge of how the gun was thrown out of the vehicle. However, he admits entering the green two-door sports car on the passenger's side, and that he was seated behind the passenger. He later testified that he was "in the backseat behind the driver", but did not exit the vehicle. His testimony states that Mr. Cao was the one who exited the vehicle on the driver side and shot into the crowd.

Deputy Allen Kramer / Security Officer

Deputy Allen Kramer, who was on duty as a security officer for Aggie's Skateland, testified that on May 9, 1997 there was a disturbance that broke out between two distinct groups. One group consisted of Orientals and the other was composed of African Americans and Caucasians. He stated that he stood between the two groups and tried to calm them down. He then stated that Mr. Cao continued to argue, therefore, he escorted Mr. Cao and his friends to their vehicle. Mr. Cao got into a two-door sports car with two occupants who sat on the passenger side. The car sped down the road, took a right turn, then came to a stop about 230 feet away. Deputy Kramer claims that he saw Mr. Cao exit the vehicle, walk to the back of the car, raise his hand, and fired the weapon. However, Mr. Kramer demonstrated to the jury that Mr. Cao raised only one hand. In contrast to what Mr. Jason Chauvin said, who was only 10 feet away from the gunman, he testified that the Oriental male raised both hands, also, the gunshot reside examination test indicated both hands. Mr. Kramer then tended to a young woman who had been injured.

Cao was then convicted of Attempted 1st Degree Murder by jury and sentenced to 30 years.

Write to me at:

Duong Cao
#396243
Louisiana State Prison
Camp D – Falcon 4
Angola, LA 70712

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