A picture of San Jose police community service officer Long Pham, right, who was killed by a driver allegedly under the influence of drugs or alcohol last Saturday, is displayed during a press conference at San Jose Police Department on Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. Pictrued with Pham is former San Jose Police Chief Anthony Mata. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)
SAN JOSE — Prosecutors have filed a murder charge against a driver who, while allegedly under the influence of alcohol, hit and killed a San Jose community service officer at a roadblock over the weekend, according to authorities and court records.
A 2014 misdemeanor drunk driving conviction in San Mateo County for Juan Huerta-Palacios gave the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office standing to charge him with what’s known as a Watson murder for the Aug. 3 collision death of 34-year-old Long Pham.
Under the Watson theory, because Huerta-Palacios had been convicted of drunk driving and was required to both formally acknowledge the danger of his actions and undergo court-mandated education about driving while under the influence, the new allegations constitute implied malice, or knowingly engaging in behavior likely to cause serious injury or death.
Huerta-Palacios, a 44-year-old Morgan Hill resident, was arraigned Wednesday and is being held at the Santa Clara County Main Jail in lieu of $500,000 bail, records show. His next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 13.
He was also charged with two felony DUI counts related to the injuries suffered by Veronica Baer, a second community service officer who was also hit Saturday night while she and Pham worked a road closure for an earlier traffic crash at Monterey Road and Palm Avenue near the southern edges of the city.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed alongside the criminal complaint, San Jose police wrote that Huerta-Palacios broadsided a police-issued Ford Focus parked at the intersection with emergency lights flashing and the two community officers standing on the other side.
The two officers were actually on the verge of clearing the area and were picking up traffic cones when Huerta-Palacios, traveling about 65 mph in a 55 mph zone, barreled through the closure, police wrote.
After the crash, he was seen with “bloodshot, watery eyes,” exhibited “slurred speech,” smelled of alcohol and walked unsteadily.
The document also stated that a responding police officer “observed an open can of Modelo beer in the vehicle” belonging to Huerta-Palacios, a silver 2022 Dodge Charger.
Police added that alcohol screenings for Huerta-Palacios in the hour following the crash registered blood-alcohol levels of .128% and .126%, well above the legal limit of .08%.
The ensuing police investigation turned up DUI arrests in 2001 and 2014 for Huerta-Palacios. In the 2014 instance, he pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of misdemeanor reckless driving, which spared him from the penalties of a DUI charge. But for the purposes of his criminal record, it counted as a DUI conviction, laying the groundwork for the murder charge he now faces.
Long was born in Saigon, Vietnam, and moved to the United States at 13 months old, Acting Police Chief Paul Joseph said at a Monday news conference. One of his mentors was Sgt. Tam Truong, who helped him secure his first job as a security guard, helping pave Pham’s path toward becoming a community service officer.
San Jose’s CSO program was established in 2014 to shift response and report taking for lower-priority police calls away from sworn officers, to free them up for patrol work and responding to more severe emergencies. Community service officers undergo an eight-week training academy and report to an SJPD lieutenant. The city currently more than 70 such officers.
Pham is the city’s first community service officer to die in the line of duty.
Truong, who is organizing an online fundraiser for Pham’s family, said in an interview that he had known Pham for over 10 years, ever since Pham’s grandfather asked Truong to take him under his wing.
Pham was well liked and known as “a trustworthy, hardworking, genuine person,” Truong said, adding that the tragedy underscored the risks of the duties he took on.
“When we swear to protect our community, we know that’s part of the job,” Truong said.
He also said the city’s Vietnamese community has been hit hard by Pham’s death, and he briefly recounted a conversation he had with Pham’s family.
“Parents that have kids in this line of work — they don’t ever want to get that phone call,” Truong said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Originally published at Robert Salonga, Cameron Duran