‘I won’t be able to sleep tonight’: Long Beach judge orders man to stand trial in 2022 fatal stabbing of grandmother

A judge ruled Thursday that there is enough evidence for a Long Beach man to stand trial on felony charges of murder and resisting arrest in connection to the fatal stabbing of a grandmother in 2022. 

After reviewing evidence presented during a three-hour-long preliminary hearing, Long Beach Superior Court Judge Debra A. Cole said Kevin Ngo, 34, would be held to answer for his alleged crimes. 

Ngo is accused of fatally stabbing 78-year-old Paz Veliz in an alleyway near the 2900 block of Coolidge Street on the morning of July 16, 2022. 

He also faces one count of assault with a deadly weapon for allegedly stabbing another man at a North Long Beach gas station on Aug. 12, 2021, and another count of animal cruelty for allegedly killing his family dog on Jan. 18, 2022. 

Deputy District Attorney Tricia Halstead presented video evidence during the preliminary hearing that placed Ngo at the murder scene and brought up several witnesses that revealed Ngo had a violent history. 

Uriel Zavala testified that he was using a payphone at a gas station on Paramount and Artesia boulevards when a man, later identified as Ngo, snuck up behind him and started stabbing him. 

Zavala, who was stabbed in the back, shoulder and ribcage, was hospitalized for two days following the attack. His injuries resulted in him losing one lung, which causes him trouble breathing to this day, he said.

A few months later on Jan. 18, 2022, Long Beach police officers responded to an apartment in the 2800 block of East Artesia Boulevard where Ngo lived with his mother. 

LBPD Officer Jose Sandoval said the department had received a call about a “violent and mentally ill person.” When they got there, Ngo’s mother said she was asleep when the family dog, Captain, started crying at her bedroom door. 

When she opened the door, a trail of blood followed the dog and Ngo was on the other side of the threshold holding a knife, Sandoval recalls Ngo’s mom telling officers. The dog had been stabbed 13 times, Sandoval added. 

It’s unclear what happened after the attack on Zavala and the dog, or whether Ngo was arrested at the time. 

LBPD Detective Sean Magee testified that Ngo’s mother told them that her son showed symptoms of mental illness after an injury he suffered while in the army. 

Though he received treatment, he never fully recovered, Magee recalled the mother saying. She added that Ngo also complained about hearing voices and he went to a Veterans Affairs hospital where he was given medication that is usually given to patients suffering from schizophrenia, Magee added. 

On July 16, 2022, Paz Veliz was collecting recyclables in an alleyway near the 2900 block of Coolidge Street around 6 a.m. 

Video evidence played in court shows a man in a hooded sweater, identified by witnesses and police as Ngo, passing by Veliz as she rummages through garbage bins. 

The man identified as Ngo walks off-screen, but returns a short time later. He sneaks up behind Veliz and violently stabs her multiple times in the chest until she falls to the ground. 

He continues stabbing her, the video shows, until two neighbors yell at him, causing him to run off. 

The neighbors appear to give chase while Veliz's body lies motionless on the ground of the alleyway. 

Magee said video of the condominium where Ngo lived with his mother shows him leaving the area, returning a short time later, and then leaving again after putting on a new shirt. 

When Magee responded to the condo, he noticed drops of blood leading to an apartment. The doorknob was smudged with blood, and after being permitted by Ngo’s mother to search inside, they found a bloodied shirt and a knife with electrical tape on the handle, Magee said. 

The LBPD, meanwhile, attempted to track down Ngo, who was headed north toward the 91 Freeway, several officers testified. 

The officers confronted Ngo and attempted to take him into custody on suspicion of murder, but he refused to comply and started walking up a freeway ramp, officers testified. 

LBPD Officer Ivan Garcia recalled Ngo fidgeting with a black pocketknife, putting it up in the air in a stabbing motion, and yelling “Shoot me, shoot me.” 

Ngo eventually dropped the knife and an officer was able to tackle him to the ground, according to witness testimony. It took about five officers to subdue Ngo, who they testified tensed up during the arrest, leading to one of them hitting him in the face before Garcia used a Taser on him. 

Ngo’s attorney, Kevin McGurk, motioned after all evidence was presented to have the five counts of resisting arrest dismissed due to insufficient evidence. 

But Judge Cole denied the motion, saying the evidence showed Ngo refused to comply with officers and made his arrest more difficult, including pulling out a pocketknife and tensing up. 

She added the video evidence that Ngo “brutally murdered a woman in broad daylight” and the killing of the dog was enough for him to stand trial on the charges. 

“I won’t be able to sleep tonight," Cole said after her decision.

Ngo, wearing a yellow Los Angeles County Jail jumpsuit, was escorted back to the custody of the LA County Sheriff's Department following the preliminary hearing. His bail was set at $2.05 million.