Man sentenced in wife's abduction

The Republican
Saturday, December 20, 2008

By FRED CONTRADA
fcontrada@repub.com

NORTHAMPTON - A Springfield man who kidnapped his wife by stuffing her in the trunk of a car was sentenced to prison Friday after his wife pleaded for leniency.

Sort D. Thang, 35, of 47 Kosciusko St., Indian Orchard, pleaded guilty to kidnapping and violating a restraining order in Hampshire Superior Court.

He was arrested on June 21 after he fled from police on foot, leaving the car he was driving at a Northampton exit on Interstate 91. Police found Thang's wife terrified and sobbing in the trunk.

As prosecutor Michael A. Cahillane recited the evidence to Judge Mary-Lou Rup, the defendant violated the restraining order obtained by Carrie Thang when he went to her Springfield home on June 21 and shoved her into her car.

In Holyoke, Thang pulled his wife from the front seat and forced her into the trunk, Cahillane said.

Another motorist, Alfonso Rivas, heard the woman screaming for help and followed the car as it headed up I-91 to Northampton. Thang got off at exit 18 and drove into the Meadows area of city. Rivas, meanwhile, had telephoned the police and was still following the car.

Thang stepped out of the car but got back in when he saw Rivas and sped through downtown Northampton and back onto the interstate. He abandoned the vehicle at exit 18 southbound.

Police found Carrie Thang in the trunk, crying and clutching a screwdriver for protection. Thang hugged a female trooper and thanked her for saving her life, saying, "He was going to kill me," Cahillane said.

Northampton police arrested Thang a few hours later as he was walking on a footpath near Veterans Field. Cahillane asked for a sentence of 5-7 years in state prison.

In seeking a lesser sentence, defense lawyer Marissa L. Elkins told Rup that her client has developed post traumatic stress disorder from a life of violence. According to Elkins, Thang was born in Cambodia during the reign of the Khmer Rouge and suffered from malnutrition at an early age. His family lived in a refugee camp before emigrating to the U.S., where they settled in a gang-ridden section of Los Angeles. Thang had a cousin die in his arms and suffered wounds from a gang shooting, Elkins said.

Because Thang does not have the proper immigration papers, he was ordered deported in 1998. However, he has been in limbo because Cambodia is unable to accept all the deportees from the U.S., Elkins said. Thang has been unable to get counseling or health insurance, she said.

Carrie Thang, who has two children with the defendant, told Rup that her feelings regarding punishment have changed since the incident.

"At first I wanted him to be locked up forever," she said. "This man asked for help but there was nothing I could do."

Carrie Thang said she wanted Thang to serve his time at the Hampshire County House of Correction, where he would be more likely to receive treatment for his problems than in state prison.

Rup sentenced Thang to 3-4 years in prison but said she would recommend to the Department of Correction that he serve the time at the county jail. He was also ordered to serve two years probation and to complete a program for batterers and undergo therapy while he is in custody.