Two suspects wanted and charged in the fatal shooting of two men found at 1713 West T.C. Jester Boulevard about 8:30 a.m. on January 27 are in custody in Harris County.
The suspects, Polie Phan, 26, and Jaidan Nguyen, 25, charged in March with capital murder in the 262nd State District Court, were extradited from San Francisco to the Harris County Jail on July 19 and July 21, respectively. Booking photos of Phan and Nguyen are attached to this news release.
A third suspect, Kathy Vu, 22, was arrested and charged in March with tampering with evidence in the investigation.
The three suspects are accused for their roles in the killings of James Gerald Martin III, 37, and Dana Ryssdal, 35.
HPD Homicide Division Sergeant B. Roberts and Detective L. Lange reported:
HPD patrol officers responded to a welfare check call at Mr. Martin’s residence at the above address and found a man, later identified as Mr. Ryssdal, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Houston Fire Department paramedics responded to the scene and pronounced him deceased. Martin and a white Dodge Ram truck (owned by Ryssdal) were missing from the residence. On Jan. 29, detectives asked for the public’s assistance in locating Martin and the truck. The vehicle was found abandoned off the roadway in the 6900 block of Cullen Boulevard on Jan. 30.
During the course of the investigation, detectives recovered another vehicle at the T.C. Jester residence. A man’s body, later identified as Martin, was observed inside the vehicle on Feb. 1. He had suffered multiple gunshot wounds.
Further investigation indicated the murders occurred on Jan. 26. Homicide detectives identified Phan and Nguyen as suspects and asked for assistance in determining their whereabouts. A third suspect, Vu, was charged on March 15 and arrested the following day without incident.
In the third week of June, detectives were advised that Phan and Nguyen were located and apprehended in Vietnam. On June 29, both males were then transported to a San Francisco jail, to await extradition back to Harris County. Phan arrived back in Harris County on July 19 and Nguyen on July 21.
The arrests of these violent offenders would not have been possible without the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service in San Francisco and Houston (Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force), the San Francisco Police Department Homicide Detail, Homeland Security Investigations, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Harris County District Attorney’s Office and Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security.
Polie Phan
Jaidan Nguyen
Kathy Vu
3rd Update: JFC/ VHS 7-24-23
2nd Update: VHS/SOA 3-17-23
Update: JFC 2-4-23
VHS/JFC 1-29-23
Inc. #013080823