Kruger case delayed

Weston Scott Kruger has so many pending criminal cases against him that the judge presiding over his arraignment in connection with the killing of a liquor store owner this weekend postponed it Tuesday so it could be determined who will represent him in court.

Kruger, 28, of Newport Beach was out on bail for an armed robbery that happened in April when on Saturday he allegedly killed Hao “Tony” Quang Huynh, the owner of Sportsman’s liquor store, 2615 Newport Blvd., after a struggle over a shoplifted magazine, authorities said.

The stoic Kruger, last listed as unemployed, did not react during Tuesday’s proceedings as his parents and girlfriend watched.

His arraignment has been postponed until Aug. 17 so the family can have more time to decide between the two lawyers now representing Kruger in three pending cases.

Kruger was charged in connection with attacking a former live-in girlfriend Aug. 25, prosecutors said. During a dispute he was accused of putting his foot on her neck and pushing her face into a bowl of dog food before hitting her on the arm with a metal pole, prosecutors said.

Kruger was out on bail April 22 when he was accused of robbing an Aliso Viejo man at his home while Kruger wore an Orange County sheriff’s department windbreaker to pretend he was a deputy, prosecutors said.

Michael K. Cernyar, whose Long Beach law offices represent Kruger in the April residential robbery and now the homicide case, could end up taking charge of the 2006 domestic violence charges as well, said Shawn Collins, who was filling in for Cernyar on Tuesday.

Kruger has another lawyer representing him in the domestic violence case now.

In Saturday’s case, liquor store owner Huynh confronted Kruger as he bought cigarettes when he noticed Kruger had the magazine stuffed under his T-shirt, police said. Kruger ran and Huynh chased him, police said.

Kruger picked Huynh up and threw him on the ground, causing a head injury that Huynh later died from, police said.

The killing touched a nerve with local police, some of whom were at Tuesday’s hearing.

“[Huynh] was well-respected throughout the community. This is a real tragedy,” Sgt. Evan Sailor, the department’s spokesman, said Tuesday.

“This man would work seven days a week, 365 days a year to provide for his family, and now he is no longer with us — all over a $9 magazine.

“We ... hope that we were able to provide some level of comfort knowing that we arrested the person responsible for this heinous crime.”

Huynh is survived by his wife, Catherine Tran.

The couple opened the store together in 1992.

Funeral services are scheduled for 11 a.m. Sunday at the Peek Family Mortuary, 7801 Bolsa Ave., Westminster. Call (714) 893-3525 for more information. Visitation is scheduled from noon to 8 p.m. Saturday.