Pierce County prosecutors on Thursday charged five alleged gang members and associates in a string of home-invasion robberies that targeted Asian families in Tacoma over the past seven months.
Nolan Chouap, 19, Soy Oeung, 20, Alicia Ngo, 22, and brothers Azariah Ross, 18, and Azias Ross, 20, each face multiple counts of robbery, burglary and unlawful imprisonment. Their charges range from 10 to 80 counts.
All pleaded not guilty at arraignment Thursday. Bail for each was set at $1 million.
The five allegedly belong to or are associates of a Cambodian street gang called Original Loco Boyz.
Authorities think the group robbed Vietnamese, Filipino and Cambodian families at gunpoint in Tacoma’s East and South sides between Jan. 25 and Aug. 26.
In each robbery, two to three thieves would break into a home, threaten the victims with weapons, and usually tie them up while stealing cash, jewelry and other valuables.
According to court papers:
The group made off with more than $80,000 in stolen goods and cash from seven robberies. The defendants admitted various levels of involvement in some or all of the crimes.
Azariah and Azias Ross and Nolan Chouap confessed to committing at least some of the robberies.
Oeung said she knocked on the door in one instance. Ngo didn’t speak with police about her alleged involvement.
However, jail phone records show Azias Ross spoke with Ngo about the robberies while he was incarcerated on unrelated charges.
The Ross brothers and Ngo also sold jewelry and gold to pawnshops after the alleged crimes, some of which was identified by the victims.
Staff writer Stacia Glenn contributed to this report. alexis.krell@ thenewstribune.com 253-597-8268 blog.thenewstribune.com/crime
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