Bucks Man Convicted Of Ethnic Intimidation For Making Racist Rant

PLUMSTEAD TOWNSHIP, PA — A Plumstead Township man was convicted on Thursday, April 20 of ethnic intimidation and harassment for making a racist rant against a store employee and then later pulling a gun on him.

During a waiver trial, Tony Ngo, 35, was found guilty by Common Pleas Judge Stephen A. Corr.

The judge sentenced Ngo to two years of probation and 50 hours of community service and ordered him to have no contact with the victim and the store at the Cross Keys Place shopping center. His firearm was also ordered held pending a forfeiture motion.

During sentencing, Corr called Ngo’s behavior unacceptable.

On Sept. 26, 2022, Plumstead Township Police were dispatched to the Swamp Road store for the report of a man with a gun. When police arrived, the man, later identified as Ngo, was no longer on scene.

Police learned that a store employee had been assisting Ngo’s wife with the sale of a cellphone. At some point, the wife became frustrated with the employee because she was unable to trade her damaged cell phone for another phone.

The employee encouraged her to return to the store at another time or visit another store, police said.

As Ngo and his wife left the store, he called the employee a racial slur several times.

Confused, the employee questioned Ngo as he walked out of the store. The employee walked toward the front door. When he came within 10 feet of Ngo, Ngo aggressively turned toward the employee, paused, and handed his cellphone and wallet to his wife. The wife guided her husband away from the store.

When the employee attempted to take a photo of the registration plate of Ngo’s vehicle, prosecutors said Ngo exited the vehicle holding a handgun. Ngo again called the employee a racial slur, racked the gun, placed the gun behind his back, quickly approached the employee and chest bumped him. The wife exited the vehicle and demanded her husband get back in the car, so they could leave, prosecutors said.

A man parked behind Ngo’s vehicle witnessed the encounter, prosecutors said. After seeing the handgun, the witness said he quickly drove out of the way and around the building for safety reasons. The witness remarked to prosecutors how calm the employee remained throughout the incident and viewed Ngo as the aggressor.

The incident was also captured on store surveillance.

The case was investigated by the Plumstead Township Police Department and was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Monica W. Furber.