Sep 4, 2008

Police nab sixth suspect in murder plot

By Banks Albach / Daily News Staff Writer

Mountain View police announced Wednesday the arrest of another suspect in June's double homicide, bringing the total number of people involved in the alleged murder plot to eight.

Authorities arrested Eric Williams, 22, at about 9 p.m. Tuesday in his hometown of Union City on an outstanding warrant for two counts of murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder, said police spokeswoman Liz Wylie. Williams was booked into Santa Clara County Main Jail without bail.

Authorities believe Williams and seven accomplices conspired to rob and possibly murder siblings Omar Aquino, 24, and Maria Teresa Sanchez-Aquino, 27, in the early morning hours of June 28 on the 1900 block of Plymouth Street. Including Williams, police have arrested six suspects so far.

The hunt is still on for Kenneth Thomas, 20, who is wanted on the same counts as Williams, and his sister Faith Thomas, 17, who is wanted on the conspiracy count. Both are considered armed and dangerous. Their younger sister Fame Ashley Thomas, 15, is in custody.

According to police, the suspects used text messages to lure Aquino to the movies with Fame and to initiate the robbery once the two arrived at his home.

The suspects allegedly bound the siblings, ransacked their home, and stole an Apple iPhone and other electronics after shooting them to death. Police who responded to reports of shots fired arrived to find the siblings slain and Sanchez-Aquino's 8-year-old son sleeping in an adjacent room. He has been living with family members since the shooting.

Also in police custody are 18-year-old Nicory Marquis Spann, the suspected triggerman; Michael David Adams, 20; Victoria Frances Thompson, 20; and Kim Thien Pham, 19. The men are facing two counts of murder and one count of conspiracy each, while the women face just one count of conspiracy each.

Pham is expected to appear in Santa Clara County Superior Court on Friday to possibly enter a plea. The other four suspects are expected to do the same today or Friday, authorities said.

Anyone with information about the whereabouts of Kenneth Thomas is urged to call the Mountain View Police Department at 650-903-6344. Tipsters may remain anonymous.


E-mail Banks Albach at balbach@dailynewsgroup.com.