Woman Still In State Hospital

Truong Remains Unfit For Trial In Shooting Incident

Detective Tom Boyle, left, with the Bentonville Police Department, escorts Huong Thi Truong, 28, of Bentonville, to a bond hearing Aug. 12, 2011, at the Benton County Courthouse. Arkansas State Hospital officials say Truong lacks fitness to stand trial, and Circuit Judge Robin Green ordered the hospital to petition for involuntary committment.
Detective Tom Boyle, left, with the Bentonville Police Department, escorts Huong Thi Truong, 28, of Bentonville, to a bond hearing Aug. 12, 2011, at the Benton County Courthouse. Arkansas State Hospital officials say Truong lacks fitness to stand trial, and Circuit Judge Robin Green ordered the hospital to petition for involuntary committment.

— A Bentonville woman remains unfit to stand trial in a shooting incident that left a man dead.

Huong Thi Truong, 29, is charged with first-degree murder in connection with the August 2011 shooting death of Minh Van Trinh, 41.

She was found unfit to stand trial last year and was sent to the Arkansas State Hospital to restore her fitness to stand trial.

Truong’s case was on Tuesday’s docket in Circuit Judge Robin Green’s court. Truong wasn’t in court because she remains at the State Hospital.

A forensic evaluation found Truong exhibits signs of schizophrenia, paranoid type, and she doesn’t have the capacity to understand the proceedings against her.

Green has signed an order committing Truong to the State Hospital.

Stephanie McLemore, deputy prosecutor, said State Hospital officials released an opinion in December that Truong lacks the fitness to proceed, saying she is unable to assist in her defense.

Green ordered the hospital to petition for the involuntary commitment of Truong. The hospital may renew the petition every 180 days as long as Truong remains unfit to proceed and is still a danger to herself or others, McLemore said.  

Truong told a doctor that jail staff performed surgery on her at night to make her taller so someone could steal her identity. She also told a doctor about delusions concerning an earthworm that had been implanted in her body to control her behavior, according to court documents.

Truong also said Vietnamese entertainment companies conspired to sabotage her business and were attempting to insert themselves into her case. She claimed an entertainment agent disguised himself as the court translator, according to court documents.

Hoa Le of Bentonville told police she drove Trinh to Truong’s home on Southeast Seventh Street. Trinh asked Le to drive him to there after he saw an online advertisement for massages, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

Le claims she waited in her vehicle and saw Trinh knock on the glass door on the west side of the residence. He then went to the front door, according to court documents. After 10 to 15 minutes, Le said a woman she knew as “Huong” answered the door and began speaking with Trinh, according to the affidavit.

Truong left the doorway as Trinh remained standing outside the residence on the front step. Truong returned and spoke briefly with Trinh before pointing at him, according to the affidavit. Le said she heard a muffled noise and watched Trinh fall back off the porch onto the ground, according to court documents.

Police later found a Kel-tec .380-caliber semi-automatic pistol and a shell casing in the home.

Truong told police she purchased the gun two months earlier. She said she needed a gun for protection because she did massages in her home, according to court documents.

Truong was arrested three times on battery charges in connection with biting or scratching jail deputies while she was a prisoner in the Benton County Jail.

Upcoming Events