Brothers Keepers hitman and rapper Tyrel Nguyen was sentenced on Jan. 11, 2024, to life in prison without parole for 25 years for two murders in a gang war against The Red Scorpions in B. C.’s Lower Mainland. A key crown witness from Edmonton, Alta., – who was placed into the witness protection program – helped convict Nguyen. The rapper’s lyrics in his music was also used as proof of a confession.
On Dec. 20, 2019, with help from Edmonton Police Service, B. C.’s Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) and Alberta RCMP arrested 21-year-old Nguyen.
Nguyen was charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of 27-year-old Randeep Kang in October 2017 and 19-year-old Jagvir Malhi in November 2018. He was also charged with two counts of attempted murder of Randeep Kang’s brother Gary Kang and gang member Camilo Alonso in October 2017.
was murdered by Tyrel Nguyen in 2017.
was murdered by Tyrel Nguyen in 2017.
Using the stage name T-Sav, Tyrel Nguyen, drew on his experiences as a gang member to make music.
During Nguyen’s 10-month trial, his music video as well as eye witness testimony were part of the evidence that convinced Justice Miriam Gropper Nguyen was guilty of the two murders.
Nguyen confessed to the murder in his music video My Life, which he posted on YouTube. “Hop out the whip with a burner, bitch. Headshot. I’m dumping clips that’s plural shit.”
A “burner”’ refers to a firearm and a “whip” is a common reference to a vehicle. A headshot meant the three shots to Randy Kang’s head.
“Because I accept the lyrics in the music video pertain to the shooting of Randy Kang, I conclude that Mr. Nguyen is claiming in the music video to be the shooter and that he is the principal of first-degree murder of Randy Kang, or at least a party to the murder,” said Justice Miriam Gropper in her written decision.
B. C.’s Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) held a press conference in Surrey Jan. 11 and used its seven-year investigation into the murders of Randeep Kang and Jagvir Malhi as a case study to show how gang-related investigations are conducted, as well as the challenges they face.
Jagvir Malhi, a former star basketball player and second-year criminology student at the University of Fraser Valley, was shot to death in November 2018.
Police say Malhi wasn’t involved in any criminal behaviour but he knew people involved in the gang war in the Lower Mainland.
Randeep Kang, 27, a known gang member, was shot dead about a year prior in October 2017, in the 11300 block of Alpen Place in Surrey.
Investigators say their investigation into the murders spanned several regions of Western Canada over seven years and involved 315 police officers.
A lot of the testimony against Nguyen during trial was from a witness who can only be named as A.B., who was a friend who lived with the Nguyen family in Surrey before having an argument with killer Tyrel Nguyen in 2019.
A.B. was directed to police after being found ineligible for a program called End Gang Life.
A.B. informed the police officers that he had knowledge of three shootings. He said he knew who killed Randy Kang and Jagvir Malhi and how and why they did it,” said Justice Miriam Gropper.
“The police advised that they were in a position to help but in order for A.B. to start over and for he and his mother to be safe, he would need money. The police were not prepared to simply give him money. He would have to become an agent and try and gather evidence.”
In the coming months, A. B. agreed with police to get back into contact with Nguyen and police set up a sting operation in A. B.’s apartment in Edmonton. Police installed a whiteboard for written communications and wired the place with cameras and microphones.
The judge weighed A. B.’s credibility against his lengthy criminal record and motivations that included money and the possibility of a lighter sentence on his outstanding criminal charges. The judge said that A. B. had also been charged with attempted murder since entering the witness protection program. The charge stemmed from an incident where the victim was drinking and saying derogatory comments about A. B.’s girlfriend.
In. spite of this, the judge said A. B.’s evidence was credible.
“It was internally consistent and consistent over time,” she wrote in her written decision.
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