State v. Hoang

755 P.2d 7 (1988)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

A Vietnamese woman hired Hoang (D) to burn down a building. D was paid $1000 to do the job with $500 in advance and the other $500 after the job was done. The owner of the building and the operators of the restaurant had not given any kind of permission for the burning. D got three assistants and entered the building early in the morning. They broke a window, and two of them crawled through the building's interior and gasoline was handed to them. Flames and smoke erupted from the building but the two who entered never returned. D and the other party fled the scene when they heard sirens. One of the felons was found in the building dead, and the other died the next day. D was arrested and advised of his Miranda rights and confessed to burglary and arson. D denied it was done for money, but he had the $500 in his pocket. D was charged with two counts of felony murder. The trial judge dismissed the counts in that the victims were co-felons. The State appealed.