San Anselmo salon owner's dream shattered when husband is gunned down in Richmond

12/05/2007
By Joe Wolfcale
Marin Independent Journal (California, USA)

Eng Heng and Thanh Thach of Cambodia bought a San Anselmo nail salon this year and had embarked on the American dream, only to have it shattered last week when Thach was shot dead as he delivered pizza in Richmond.

"The salon was my dream," said Eng Heng, known to clients as Jenny. "He was a handsome man. He was hard working. And a very gentle man."

At 9 p.m. Nov. 26, four days after Heng, Thach and family had celebrated Thanksgiving in their modest Richmond home, an unknown assailant shot Thach twice from behind while he delivered a pizza on South 45th Street.

Thach, 38, who worked part-time as a manicurist at the Precision Salon & Beauty Supply on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard - and delivered pizzas at night for Pizza Hut in El Cerrito - had wandered around the Park Plaza neighborhood before being shot. Richmond police say robbery does not appear to be the motive because his change purse, cell phone and the pizza he had attempted to deliver to a regular customer were found nearby, police said.

Thach, a Buddhist monk for a decade before he met Heng, was cremated and his ashes will be scattered in the village of his family in Cambodia. Heng's father was among 1.5 million Cambodians killed during the reign of the Khmer Rouge from 1975 to 1979.

A memorial fund has been established by Pizza Hut for Heng and her boys, an 18-month-old, a 3-year-old and a 15-year-old El Cerrito High School freshman. Contributions can be made at any Bank of America branch office.

Richmond police detectives remain optimistic about cracking the case. A $20,000 reward has been offered for information leading to the conviction of those responsible.

Richmond police Detective Eric Haupt said Thach was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"This is probably one of the most shocking and disturbing homicides I've been involved with in 14 years," Haupt said. "This was just completely senseless."

He said police are making progress on the case. "Things are looking more hopeful as the days go by."

Heng fought back tears Wednesday as she thumbed through a photo album packed with wedding-day photographs and incense burned on a table where a shrine was adorned with photographs, candles and food offerings.

She and Thach had immigrated separately, met in this country and started their family here.

Heng, who became a U.S. citizen in the mid-1990s, worked at nail salons throughout Marin before purchasing the San Anselmo salon this year.

Thach, who earned his U.S. citizenship in September, had recently lost his job as a mail handler at the U.S. Postal Service center in West Oakland and had been delivering pizzas for about a month. He had earned his manicurist license.

Ellen Riaboff of Mill Valley, a client of Heng's for about five years, said the situation is overwhelming.

"This is such a tragedy," Riaboff said. "It's living, breathing, happening right now and it's not going away anytime soon.

"Jenny's smart and ambitious, that's what has gotten her this far.

"It's really too overwhelming to think about where to go from here. We just want to help out.

"What do you say to comfort her, though, other than I'm here if you need me?"

Contact Joe Wolfcale via e-mail at jwolfcale@marinij.com

Pizza Hut matches homicide reward

11/29/2007
By Karl Fischer
STAFF WRITER
San Jose Mercury News (Calif., USA)

The company that employed a pizza delivery driver shot this week in Richmond will match a $10,000 police reward offer for information leading to the conviction of his killer.

Thanh Thach, 38, died about 9 p.m. Monday in a shooting on the 800 block of South 45th Street while trying to deliver a pizza. He leaves behind a wife and two young children.

Richmond police have offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible. Pizza Hut offers an additional $10,000, a company spokesman said Thursday.

The company and Thach's family each have set up funds for the family. Those wishing to donate can take checks to the Thanh Thach Memorial Fund, account number 0478766625, to any Bank of America branch or any Richmond-area Pizza Hut.

The victim's family also set up a separate fund at Washington Mutual Bank, account number 3573511091.

Police ask anyone with information to call Richmond police Detective Eric Haupt at 510-620-6622 or the anonymous tip line at 510-232-TIPS.

Reach Karl Fischer at 510-262-2728 or kfischer@bayareanewsgroup.com.

$10,000 reward for information on the shooting of Thanh Thach in Richmond

Police Offer $10,000 Reward In Deliveryman Shooting

November 27, 2007
Fox TV Channel Reno (USA)

RICHMOND, Calif. -- The Richmond Police Department announced Tuesday that it is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the killing of Thanh Thach, a Pizza Hut deliveryman shot from behind in Richmond Monday night.

Lt. Mark Gagan said that the department believes Thach was randomly killed in what may have been a gang initiation.

Thach was in the 800 block of South 45th Street in the city's Park Plaza neighborhood at 8:58 p.m. looking for the correct address of a resident who ordered a pizza, Gagan said.

The female caller said that a man had been shot in front of her home. Responding officers found Thach at the reported location and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Preliminary reports indicated that Thach was attempting to deliver a pizza to an apartment in the 900 block of South 45th Street but could not locate the building.

As he wandered the neighborhood in search of his destination, unknown assailants approached him and attempted to rob him, Berry said.

Thach tried to run away, but was shot twice from behind.

"The address had had pizzas delivered at least five occasions -- it's an address they had been out to before," said Sgt. Mitch Peixoto. "This delivery person had not been out here before. He was lost."

Gagan added that the killing came in a part of the troubled city that was designated as a high-crime area during the city's state of emergency two years ago.

Nothing was stolen from Thach during the shooting. He was found with his cell phone, his wallet and the pizza he was trying to deliver, according to Gagan. Police are unsure of a motive for the shooting, Gagan said.

The murder has compelled the department to offer the reward, funded by the city of Richmond.

"The senseless killing of Mr. Thach has compelled the Richmond Police Department to use all of its resources in trying to solve this crime," he said.

"Looking at the hardship that it has caused his family and the community we feel it is imperative that we solve this crime," Gagan said. "We are actively investigating this but were waiting for that important tip to come in."

Thach, a recent U.S. citizen who came from Cambodia in 1994, leaves behind two young children, a 3-year-old and an 18-month-old, Gagan said.

A memorial fund for Thach's family is being set up by Pizza Hut, Gagan said. Donations of money for the fund and toys for the children can be delivered to the Pizza Hut where Thach worked at 11775 San Pablo Ave. in El Cerrito.

Thach had worked at Pizza Hut for one month, and also worked at a local post office, according to Gagan.

Thach was the first pizza deliveryman killed in Richmond in three years, according to Gagan.

The homicide was the 34th of the year in Richmond and came three days after three people were gunned down in separate drive-by shootings on the city's violent streets. The East Bay community was ranked as America's ninth most dangerous city in CQ Press' recent annual survey based on FBI crime statistics.

Police are asking that those with information about the shooting call Detective Eric Haupt at (510) 620-6622.

[Cambodian-American] Pizza delivery man killed in Richmond

Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer
San Francisco Chronicle (Calif., USA)

A pizza deliveryman trying to find an address in Richmond was shot and killed during a possible robbery attempt, police said today.

Thanh Thach, 38, a father of two who lived in Richmond with his wife, was shot at about 9 p.m. Monday as he was trying to deliver a pizza on South 45th Street, authorities said.

Thach, who had been working at Pizza Hut for less than six weeks, was searching for a location on the 900 block of South 45th Street when he was accosted on the 800 block by one or two men, police said.

The assailants shot Thach twice and fled without taking the pizza or any of Thach's property, said Richmond police Lt. Mark Gagan.

The motive for the slaying was unclear, although it's possible that it was a "robbery gone bad," Gagan said.

Thach was on his cell phone with the person who ordered the pizza when the phone went dead, Gagan said. Just a few seconds later, the customer heard shots ring out nearby, he said.

Investigators do not believe the slaying resulted from a setup, as the people who ordered the pizza have ordered on several previous occasions, Gagan said.

"They were very cooperative with the investigation," Gagan said. "They were visibly shaken by the fact that he had been murdered."

Thach was trying to make enough money to bring his mother to the United States from their native Cambodia, said his wife, who didn't want her name used out of concern for her safety.

Thach was the father of two sons, ages 3 and 18 months.

Thach had been working for Pizza Hut for just four to six weeks and previously worked a temporary job at the U.S. Postal Service facility on Seventh Street in West Oakland.

"He is a very hard worker," his wife said. "He loved the kids so much. I feel like-it's unbelievable. I still feel he's alive."

After living in the U.S. for 13 years, he became a U.S. citizen in September, which was the happiest day of his life, his wife said.

"This is one of those that really hits home," Gagan said.

E-mail Henry K. Lee at hlee@sfchronicle.com.