A federal appeals court has thrown out Le's murder-related convictions of a Fountain Valley man found guilty of killing a drug associate aboard a boat off Dana Point Harbor, ruling that the trial judge should have declared a mistrial instead of swapping out a juror who suffered a mental health crisis during deliberations. The decision means Hoang Xuan Le, who was sentenced to life in federal prison, could face a new trial over the 2019 killing of Tri “James” Minh Dao.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals — Circuit Judges Michelle T. Friedland, Danielle J. Forrest, and Roopali H. Desai — issued the ruling on October 15, vacating Le's convictions for first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of murder and sending the case back for a new trial, according to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The panel found that the district court erred by replacing a distressed juror rather than declaring a mistrial after that juror reported being in crisis following disagreements with fellow jurors, as detailed by ABA Journal.
According to the ABA Journal's reporting, the juror's dismissal was tied to her views on the merits of the case against Le, a connection that proved fatal to the conviction under long-standing 9th Circuit precedent. Writing for the panel, Judge Friedland explained that the dismissal was problematic specifically because it stemmed from the juror's position on the case rather than a neutral, unrelated reason. She warned that allowing a juror to be removed after facing majority pressure during deliberations would create perverse incentives and undermine the constitutional right to a jury, per the same ABA Journal account of her opinion.
A Sixth Amendment Line Drawn Decades Earlier
The panel's reasoning traces back to the 9th Circuit's 1999 ruling in United States v. Symington, which 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 court treated that standard as a bright line protecting the Sixth Amendment right to a unanimous verdict, the appellate panel determined.
Notably, the panel found that Le's trial counsel consenting to replacing the holdout juror with an alternate did not block the appeal. A criminal defendant cannot waive a Sixth Amendment challenge when juror removal undermines jury unanimity, the court ruled, concluding the error met the plain error standard required for reversal even without a timely objection at trial.
Federal Jurisdiction Over Coastal Waters Upheld
In the same ruling, the panel rejected a separate jurisdictional challenge from Le, holding 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. That holding keeps federal prosecutors' authority intact over the killing, which took place in the waters off Dana Point Harbor.
The Killing That Led to a Life Sentence
U.S. District Judge David O. Carter originally sentenced Le to life in federal prison in August 2023, following a federal jury trial that produced 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, a 44-year-old marijuana dealer, onto a boat at Dana Point Harbor under the pretense of a late-night lobster fishing trip, then shot him and left him to drown over an estimated $30,000 to $40,000 drug debt.
Fishermen found Dao's body floating in the Pacific Ocean northwest of Oceanside on October 16, 2019, roughly 36 hours after the shooting. The San Diego County Medical Examiner determined he drowned after sustaining gunshot wounds and blunt force trauma, the Justice Department's account states.
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 her to 262 months — 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 distribution of cocaine and methamphetamine — convictions that remain undisturbed by the appellate ruling.
What Happens Next
The 9th Circuit's decision vacates Le's convictions tied to the mishandled juror dismissal. The case returns for a new trial on the maritime murder charges, with the appellate panel having firmly reaffirmed federal jurisdiction over the killing. ABA Journal noted that its coverage drew on additional reporting from Law360.
