Murder Defendants get into Fight Before Court
MODESTO – Two of the three suspects accused of a triple murder in Modesto weren’t able to show up to their scheduled court date this week because they got into a fight while waiting in the holding cell.
Oloth Phommahaxay
Oloth Dicky Phommahaxay, 20, and Chris Douangkham, 18, got into an altercation while waiting to enter the Stanislaus County Superior Courthouse on Wednesday morning. One of them had to be examined by jail medical staff.
The two, along with 17-year-old Sophon Theoun Ting, were indicted for fatally shooting a couple, Vanh and Pouvieng Thammavongsa, and their adult daughter, Nanci Thammavongsa, while robbing the family’s store, V & V Oriental Market, in Modesto.
Chris Douangkham
Ting was not involved in the scuffle at court, which happened around 9 a.m. The men were waiting in a holding cell, which is in a tunnel through where inmates are brought from the jail to the Modesto courthouse. There were other prisoners in the cell, including Tou Vang Xiong, who was involved in the fight. Xiong has been charged with the murder of two Modesto residents.
The deputies on hand ordered the inmates on the ground and then did a search. No weapons were discovered. Douangkham had a cut on his head, but no one else appeared to be injured. It is unclear why the fight started. Officials said that none of the inmates chose to press charges against each other.
The hearing for Phommahaxay and Douangkham was postponed until next week.
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