Two men have pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the slaying of a key witness to the 1998 Trang Dai massacre, Tacoma’s worst mass killing.
Prasoeuth Chantha, 23, and Johnson Saly, 21, pleaded guilty Monday in Pierce County Superior Court to the slaying of Kosal Sin in April 2000.
Sin had been expected to testify that defendant Jimmee Chea told him about the planned attack at the Trang Dai cafe the day before the killings.
On July 5, 1998, gunmen walked into the cafe in Tacoma’s Lincoln District and opened fire, killing five people and wounded five others.
Nine suspects were arrested during the course of the investigation. Two are currently awaiting trial.
Prosecutors decided in March not to seek the death penalty against the two men.
Instead, they say they will recommend sentences of 34 years for Chantha and 35 years for Saly.