San Francisco Man Sentenced To 11 Years For Shooting At U.S. Postal Worker

Press Release

Victim Was Delivering Mail When Chased and Shot At A Dozen Times By Defendant

SAN FRANCISCO - Vo Nguyen was sentenced yesterday to 132 months in prison for assault on a federal employee with a deadly weapon and discharging a firearm in the course of the assault, announced United States Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey and United States Postal Inspection Service, San Francisco Division Inspector in Charge Stephen Sherwood. The sentence was handed down by United States District Judge William H. Orrick.

Nguyen, 38, a resident of San Francisco, pleaded guilty on May 2, 2024. According to his plea agreement, a United States Postal Service (USPS) employee, engaged in mail delivery and dressed in a postal uniform, was delivering mail to Nguyen's residence on April 1, 2023. Nguyen came out of the house and yelled at the USPS employee, who Nguyen did not know. Nguyen admitted he aggressively approached the USPS employee and acted like he wanted to fight. The USPS employee backed up, then turned and ran. The USPS employee fled a couple of houses away but Nguyen followed, and the USPS employee pepper sprayed Nguyen. Nguyen admitted he then went home, grabbed a 9-millimeter semi-automatic pistol, got into his car, and went looking for the USPS employee. Nguyen admitted that he shortly found the USPS employee and fired approximately five to six shots at him. Nguyen stated he paused briefly, then fired approximately five more shots at the USPS employee who was then running away. The USPS employee ran in the opposite direction that Nguyen was driving, so Nguyen made a U-turn and again drove towards the USPS employee. Nguyen stopped in front of a parked SUV that the USPS employee had crouched behind to hide. Nguyen saw the USPS employee and fired three more shots at the USPS employee. Nguyen drove away briefly before returning and chasing the USPS employee on foot until the USPS employee pepper sprayed him again.

A federal grand jury indicted Nguyen on May 2, 2023. He was charged with, among other charges, assault upon a federal employee with a deadly or dangerous weapon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 111(a) and (b), and discharging a firearm in connection with a crime of violence, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). He pleaded guilty to both of these charges.

Nguyen has remained in custody since his arrest on April 1, 2023.

In addition to the 132 month term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Orrick further sentenced the defendant to a three year period of supervision following his release from prison and scheduled a hearing on October 10, 2024, to determine the amount of restitution to be paid by the defendant.

Kelsey Davidson is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case, with the assistance of Veronica Hernandez, Marina Ponomarchuk, and Victim Specialist Janice Pagsanjan. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the San Francisco Police Department.

Updated July 19, 2024