Hung Thanh Mai

As grieving relatives of California Highway Officer Don Burt looked on, the Anaheim man accused of gunning down the rookie officer during a traffic stop last month pleaded not guilty Friday to a murder charge. About a dozen family and friends of the slain officer, wearing blue metallic wristbands inscribed with Burt's name in tribute, said they wanted defendant Hung Thanh Mai to know, if he is guilty, that he's harmed and changed the lives of many people.

Even San Quentin state prison's notorious death row is not secure enough to hold convicted cop killer Hung "Henry" Thanh Mai. Instead, the state's most heavily guarded inmate will be housed in the nation's toughest federal prison, a bunker-like maximum security facility in Colorado dubbed "Supermax." Among Mai's future fellow inmates: the Oklahoma City bomber, Timothy J. McVeigh; Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, the mastermind of the World Trade Center bombing; and Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski.

A former Tustin private investigator was sentenced Tuesday to 46 months in prison for his role in a plot to murder a witness in the slaying of a California Highway Patrol officer. Daniel Watkins, 48, pleaded guilty June 14 to being an accessory to a plot masterminded by gang leader Hung Thanh Mai, 28. Watkins, who has been already been jailed a year, will serve about three more years, Assistant U.S. Atty. Marc Greenberg said. U.S. District Judge David O. Carter in Santa Ana followed the recommendation of prosecutors, the probation department and the defense in giving Watkins a term of nearly four years, Greenberg said.

Jurors and the family of slain CHP Officer Don J. Burt Jr. were confronted anew with the reservoir of rage in convicted cop killer Hung Thanh Mai when he toppled the defense table in a profanity-filled tirade Monday before being wrestled to the floor by seven deputies. Mai, hands and arms shackled to his waist, tried to kick bailiffs as they dragged the orange-suited defendant from the Santa Ana courtroom in a chokehold.

Even San Quentin state prison's notorious death row is not secure enough to hold convicted cop killer Hung "Henry" Thanh Mai. Instead, the state's most heavily guarded inmate will be housed in the nation's toughest federal prison, a bunker-like maximum security facility in Colorado dubbed "Supermax." Among Mai's future fellow inmates: the Oklahoma City bomber, Timothy J. McVeigh; Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, the mastermind of the World Trade Center bombing; and Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski.

The trial of Hung Thanh Mai, charged with gunning down rookie CHP Officer Don J. Burt in 1996, on Friday was scheduled for next spring by an Orange County Superior Court judge. Judge Richard L. Weatherspoon set the trial date for April 20. Mai, 26, is charged with murder with the special circumstance of murdering a peace officer. The district attorney's office announced Thursday that it would seek the death penalty for Mai if he were convicted.

Jurors and the family of slain CHP Officer Don J. Burt were confronted anew with the reservoir of rage in Burt's killer when he toppled the defense table in a profanity-filled tirade Monday before seven deputies wrestled him to the floor. Hung Thanh Mai, whose hands and arms were shackled to his waist, tried to kick the bailiffs as they dragged him from the courtroom in a chokehold.

Jurors and the family of slain CHP Officer Don J. Burt Jr. were confronted anew with the reservoir of rage in convicted cop killer Hung Thanh Mai when he toppled the defense table in a profanity-filled tirade Monday before being wrestled to the floor by seven deputies. Mai, hands and arms shackled to his waist, tried to kick bailiffs as they dragged the orange-suited defendant from the Santa Ana courtroom in a chokehold.

For Hung Thanh Mai, the Anaheim man accused of killing a CHP officer during a traffic stop, the 10 days since his arrest have been the "worst of my life." Mai declined Friday to talk about charges that he killed Officer Don Burt, who was shot seven times. But the 25-year-old suspect emphatically denied allegations that he is tied to a roving gang based in Long Beach. "I was never in a gang," said Mai, who immigrated to Orange County from Vietnam in 1975 with his paternal grandmother.

A phalanx of heavily armed marshals escorted Hung "Henry" Thanh Mai into a courtroom here Tuesday to face charges that he murdered CHP Officer Don Burt. Orange County marshals, some armed with shotguns, lined the hallways, stood by in the courtroom and watched from the roof, as Mai was led before Judge Daniel T. Brice in Municipal Court in Fullerton. The marshals were reacting to worries that someone might try to free or even kill Mai, who was arrested last week in Houston.

Jurors and the family of slain CHP Officer Don J. Burt were confronted anew with the reservoir of rage in Burt's killer when he toppled the defense table in a profanity-filled tirade Monday before seven deputies wrestled him to the floor. Hung Thanh Mai, whose hands and arms were shackled to his waist, tried to kick the bailiffs as they dragged him from the courtroom in a chokehold.

A day after a shocking courtroom outburst by convicted cop killer Hung Thanh Mai, the parents of slain highway patrolman Don J. Burt on Thursday decried the defendant's behavior as the desperate actions of an unrepentant man. "He is Mr. Macho and he lost it yesterday," said Don Burt Sr., the father of the California Highway Patrol officer Mai killed during a traffic stop in Fullerton four years ago.

A former Tustin private investigator was sentenced Tuesday to 46 months in prison for his role in a plot to murder a witness in the slaying of a California Highway Patrol officer. Daniel Watkins, 48, pleaded guilty June 14 to being an accessory to a plot masterminded by gang leader Hung Thanh Mai, 28. Watkins, who has been already been jailed a year, will serve about three more years, Assistant U.S. Atty. Marc Greenberg said. U.S. District Judge David O. Carter in Santa Ana followed the recommendation of prosecutors, the probation department and the defense in giving Watkins a term of nearly four years, Greenberg said.

The trial of Hung Thanh Mai, charged with gunning down rookie CHP Officer Don J. Burt in 1996, on Friday was scheduled for next spring by an Orange County Superior Court judge. Judge Richard L. Weatherspoon set the trial date for April 20. Mai, 26, is charged with murder with the special circumstance of murdering a peace officer. The district attorney's office announced Thursday that it would seek the death penalty for Mai if he were convicted.

When CHP Officer Don Burt stopped Hung Thanh "Henry" Mai for a routine traffic violation last summer, Mai killed him because the officer stumbled onto proof of Mai's ties to organized crime, the man who turned Mai in to the FBI said Friday. Testifying at Mai's preliminary hearing in Municipal Court in Fullerton, Khang "Alex" Nguyen said Mai told him that initially he was prepared to cooperate with Burt if the officer just had his car towed.

As grieving relatives of California Highway Officer Don Burt looked on, the Anaheim man accused of gunning down the rookie officer during a traffic stop last month pleaded not guilty Friday to a murder charge. About a dozen family and friends of the slain officer, wearing blue metallic wristbands inscribed with Burt's name in tribute, said they wanted defendant Hung Thanh Mai to know, if he is guilty, that he's harmed and changed the lives of many people.

A day after a shocking courtroom outburst by convicted cop killer Hung Thanh Mai, the parents of slain highway patrolman Don J. Burt on Thursday decried the defendant's behavior as the desperate actions of an unrepentant man. "He is Mr. Macho and he lost it yesterday," said Don Burt Sr., the father of the California Highway Patrol officer Mai killed during a traffic stop in Fullerton four years ago.

When CHP Officer Don Burt stopped Hung Thanh "Henry" Mai for a routine traffic violation last summer, Mai killed him because the officer stumbled onto proof of Mai's ties to organized crime, the man who turned Mai in to the FBI said Friday. Testifying at Mai's preliminary hearing in Municipal Court in Fullerton, Khang "Alex" Nguyen said Mai told him that initially he was prepared to cooperate with Burt if the officer just had his car towed.

For Hung Thanh Mai, the Anaheim man accused of killing a CHP officer during a traffic stop, the 10 days since his arrest have been the "worst of my life." Mai declined Friday to talk about charges that he killed Officer Don Burt, who was shot seven times. But the 25-year-old suspect emphatically denied allegations that he is tied to a roving gang based in Long Beach. "I was never in a gang," said Mai, who immigrated to Orange County from Vietnam in 1975 with his paternal grandmother.

A phalanx of heavily armed marshals escorted Hung "Henry" Thanh Mai into a courtroom here Tuesday to face charges that he murdered CHP Officer Don Burt. Orange County marshals, some armed with shotguns, lined the hallways, stood by in the courtroom and watched from the roof, as Mai was led before Judge Daniel T. Brice in Municipal Court in Fullerton. The marshals were reacting to worries that someone might try to free or even kill Mai, who was arrested last week in Houston.