Getaway driver sentenced in 1998 Tacoma massacre

TACOMA — A getaway driver has been sentenced to 6-1/2 years in prison for his role in the 1998 Trang Dai massacre, in which five people died in a shooting spree at a cafe.

It was Tacoma's worst mass slaying.

Veasna Sok, 22, who pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in a plea deal with prosecutors, was the last of six men sentenced in the attack.

He apologized for his role as one of two getaway drivers and thanked God for giving him a second chance at life.

"I'm very sorry for what happened," Sok told Pierce County Superior Court Judge Vicki Hogan at sentencing Friday. "I truly regret it."

Sok also thanked his family and friends, his lawyer and the criminal-justice system.

"It is a tragic situation, not only to the victims and their families but to you and your family," the judge said.

The shootings early July 5, 1998, were loosely linked to gang rivalries and followed an argument one of the defendants had earlier with a cafe customer.

Defense lawyer Donald Winskill said Sok had accepted responsibility for his actions.

Deputy Prosecutor Ed Murphy had recommended the 6-1/2-year sentence, noting Sok had testified against two co-defendants.

"He did stand up and do the right thing in this case," Murphy said.

Sok's is the lightest sentence of any of the Trang Dai defendants. With credit for time served, he could be out of prison in about 22 months.

Winskill said he will ask the state Department of Corrections to take steps to protect Sok in prison.

Prosecutors charged nine men in the Trang Dai case, but two committed suicide and another was killed before trial.