Teen to stand trial in mall beating death

Thursday, June 16, 2005 | 9:29 a.m.

A teenager charged with murder with use of a deadly weapon for participating in last year's fatal beating of a 17-year-old at the Boulevard Mall waived his preliminary hearing on Wednesday and will stand trial before District Judge Michael Cherry.

Asdawut "Matt" Yatprachum is one of four teenagers -- all alleged to be members of the Asian "Horny Boys" gang -- who have been charged in connection to the killing of Lee Masangkay.

Yatprachum is scheduled for arraignment before Cherry on June 23.

Masangkay was in the mall with his girlfriend several hours before he was killed and exchanged words with several gang members, police said. He and the girl sat down to eat at the food court about 8 p.m. and the gang members spotted him.

Witnesses saw three or four young men attack Masangkay, kicking him, punching him and hitting him with black plastic and metal food court chairs, according to Chief Deputy District Attorney Marc DiGiacomo.

Masangkay was a popular, artistic 17-year-old who sang in his church choir and wanted to be a minister, his family and friends say and was never involved in any gang activity. Fifteen-year-old Kenny Vansouphet, pleaded guilty on Jan. 18 to one count of voluntary manslaughter with use of a deadly weapon for the killing and was sentenced to six to 20 years in prison.

DiGiacomo said Vansouphet, then 14, was the person who hit Masangkay over the head with a metal chair, "which we believed caused the death."

Happy Oum, 16, also pleaded guilty to one count of voluntary manslaughter with use of a deadly weapon for his role in the killing and was sentenced to six to 20 years in prison.

DiGiacomo has said witness statements and a security surveillance videotape show Oum got in a fist fight with Masangkay at the mall.

One other teen alleged to be involved in the attack, Ratasit "Joe" Oudom, previously waived his preliminary hearing and is facing one count of involuntary manslaughter, which carries a sentence of 1 to 4 years in prison.

He is scheduled for sentencing before Cherry on July 5.

Under Nevada law anyone over 8 years old charged with homicide or attempted homicide must be treated as an adult unless a judge rules otherwise.