Chek Ngoun will stay behind bars longer than that he has been denied parole in connection with a 1996 murder he committed southwest of Keyes.

The 47-year-old inmate was convicted of the fatal shooting of Kevin Frankie Martinez outside the Mountain View Grange Hall on Crows Landing Road.

The former Modesto man was denied parole on Tuesday, March 5, at a Board of Parole Hearings held at the California Institution for Men, a state prison in Chino. 

Deputy District Attorney John Goold argued against Ngoun’s release based upon his violent history while in prison, his lack of solid parole plans, having no relapse prevention plan to avoid the gang lifestyle if released, never having “debriefed” prison officials on his gang knowledge and participation, and having a lack of any real insight into the causes of his crimes.

While in prison, Ngoun coordinated an attack on another inmate with his fellow gang members. During the hearing, Ngoun admitted joining an Asian prison gang but claimed he had left the group within the last 10 years.

He also admitted lying about having mental health symptoms for his own benefit. A psychologist’s report stated that Ngoun posed a moderate risk for future violence if released and that he hasn’t demonstrated control over his desire to do things harmful to others.

The board denied parole for three more years. Because he was a minor at the time of the murder, he may be able to petition the Board for an earlier hearing in as little as 18 months.

On August 17, 1996, Ngoun and other members of the Modesto Hit Squad, a local group affiliated with the Crips criminal street gang, went to a birthday party at the Mountain View Grange Hall on Crows Landing Road. A fight broke out and Ngoun shot and killed the 18-year-old Martinez.

He picked up more charges when on Sept. 7, 1996, Ngoun and other members of the gang got into a fight with men at a home on Longfellow Avenue in Modesto. Ngoun went home, retrieved a gun and returned to the address where he shot and wounded three different men.

Ngoun was convicted of murdering Martinez with gang enhancements and three counts of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon and infliction of great bodily injury enhancements in the Longfellow Avenue attack. He was sentenced to serve a lengthy determinate term plus life in prison with the possibility of parole.