By Nina Hall
SACRAMENTO – Friday, in Judge Deborah Lobre’s department in Sacramento County Superior Court, the defendant sat with his head in his hands insisting, over and over, “I didn’t do nothing.”
Yong Moua, accused of multiple felonies including corporal injury resulting in a traumatic condition and wrongful imprisonment, and animal abuse, was later called to answer on all charges after his preliminary hearing, with a trial set at a later date.
Deputy District Attorney Stephanie Maroun brought in three different witnesses, who all identified the defendant as the offender, to testify on the events of July 30. The first witness was a sworn peace officer of the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department for 20 years, Cory Moore.
Moore reported that he was called to a scene and met with a witness who said they saw Moua engage in an altercation with a female victim. The witness told Moore that he observed the couple 
drive up and stop in the parking lot in front of O’Reilly Auto Parts, the witness’s place of employment.
He went on to tell the officer that Moua and the woman in the car were audibly arguing. Moua was then seen grabbing what appeared to be a metal rod and leaning over, slapping her, before the fight escalated. The woman had reportedly been Moua’s girlfriend of two years.
The witness reported that the woman got hold of the metal rod and threw it out of the car before running into the store. At the same time a dog jumped out of the car and Moua pursued it.
Another witness that Moore had spoken to explained that the woman ran up to the counter and asked the employees to call 911. Shortly after the victim had run inside Moua was seen holding the dog up by the collar threatening to kill it if the woman didn’t get back in the car.
Witnesses reported that the dog was suspended in the air and choking. The victim then exited O’Reilly and re-entered the vehicle, a white Honda Civic, with Moua.
Shortly after the altercation, multiple 911 calls were received from complainants concerning an assault that they had viewed a little way down the road from the auto parts store. The vehicle at this scene matched the one seen in the O’Reilly parking lot.
The People’s next witness, Deputy Peter Thomas, responded to the roadside scene around 4 p.m. Thomas testified that a witness passing by the scene claimed to have seen Moua pinning the woman against a metal fence and striking her with a metal rod.
The woman was hit at least once across the face and once in the mid-section, the witness said. After the assault Moua placed the woman in a chokehold and attempted to drag her back to the car.
Another officer from the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, Vy Suon, responded to a 911 call to the same scene from a different complainant reporting a roadside assault. Suon, as well as another nearby witness, was able to identify the defendant on the scene.
Assistant Public Defender Pamela Dominisse cross-examined all of the witnesses. Upon her cross-examination of Suon, Dominisse asked about the condition of the car upon arrival. Suon stated that the car did have a flat tire and the rod appeared to be from a car jack.
Additionally, he said there were no signs of injuries on the victim or anything at the scene to indicate that Moua had dragged the victim back to the car.
Judge Lobre called Moua to answer to all felony charges, including a violation of Penal Code section 273.5 (wrongful imprisonment) as well as a misdemeanor for a violation of PC section 597 (animal abuse), in addition to corporal injury.
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