A San Francisco man has been sentenced to 11 years in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to charges including assault on a federal employee with a deadly weapon and discharging a firearm during the assault, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office. The sentence, handed down by U.S. District Judge William H. Orrick, comes following an incident on April 1, 2023, where the postal worker was fired upon a dozen times while delivering mail.
According to admissions made as part of his plea agreement, Vo Nguyen, 38, chased and shot at the United States Postal Service employee after a confrontation that began outside his residence. Nguyen, not recognizing the postal worker, first yelled at and then pursued the victim, who had to resort to pepper spray for self-defense. Nguyen subsequently retrieved a 9-millimeter semi-automatic pistol and fired multiple shots at the fleeing worker.
Nguyen has been in custody since the day of his attack, and following his sentencing, he will also be subject to three years of supervision after his release. A hearing on October 10 will determine the restitution Nguyen must pay, all according to the office of U.S. Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey.
The intensive investigation that led to Nguyen's indictment and subsequent guilty plea was a collaborative effort between the United States Postal Inspection Service and the San Francisco Police Department, with Kelsey Davidson serving as the lead Assistant U.S. Attorney prosecuting the case his team included Veronica Hernandez, Marina Ponomarchuk, and Victim Specialist Janice Pagsanjan.
