By Brian Anderson
Contra Costa Newspapers

Oct. 8, 2002

OAKLAND —A deputy sheriff who arrested a suspect believed to have been involved in a deadly restaurant holdup spotted the man's shoes as he hid from authorities in a utility trailer, the deputy said Thursday.

In the continuing trial of three men accused of robbing a Dublin steakhouse where a deputy was killed, Deputy Jeff Lind told jurors that he had Hai Minh Le in custody minutes after arriving on the scene.

Prosecutor Jon Goodfellow has said that Le, 23; Reuben Eliceo Vasquez, 27; and Miguel Galindo Sifuentes, 23, stormed the Outback Steakhouse late Dec. 11, 1998. They rounded up customers and employees, Goodfellow maintains, and made off with thousands of dollars of the Regional Street restaurant's money.

Deputy John Paul Monego was shot and killed while investigating an emergency call made from the restaurant.

The robbers led authorities on a short chase that ended for one suspect when the car the men were riding in crashed, officials said. Goodfellow has said that Vasquez and Le jumped out of the car and fled on foot.

Lind said he was dispatched to Dublin, where he combed through an area near Dublin Boulevard. He noticed and entered a utility trailer, where he opened a closet door, he said.

Spotting the shoes, he closed the door, pulled out his gun and demanded the man come out. Le was taken into custody without incident, Lind testified.

Vasquez also was arrested after a short chase, officials said. Sifuentes was arrested in the car.

All three are charged with first-degree murder and special circumstances that could garner a death sentence. The trial is in its sixth week.