CE arrests Tony Playboy, the 1989 Little Saigon sandwich shop shootout fugitive spotlighted on ‘America’s Most Wanted'
April 28, 2026Houston,
HOUSTON — Minh Duy Tong Nguyen aka Tony Playboy, of Vietnam, was once a fugitive wanted for the murder of two people and the attempted murder of three others. He was featured on an episode of “America’s Most Wanted” in 1990 and subsequently captured in Canada and extradited to the U.S. to stand trial for murder.
Nguyen was associated with the Nomads gang, a Vietnamese street gang that was active in the Houston area. The gang was known for violent turf wars and home invasions. In 1988, Nguyen began to see himself as a leader of his own faction. Soon after, a turf war broke out over territory, honor, and women, and so-called Tony Playboy led his faction to eliminate rival Nomads.
"Nguyen came to the United States with lawful permanent resident status in 1980, but he threw away his green card — choosing a life of gang violence and murdering two people on U.S. soil,” said ICE Director Todd M. Lyons. “On Jan. 30, 1989, he was involved in a shootout at Givral’s Sandwich Shop in Houston’s Little Saigon area. The exchange of gunfire resulted in two deaths — three others were injured. While most of the other gang members were captured, Nguyen escaped.”
https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-arrests-tony-playboy-1989-little-saigon-sandwich-shop-shootout-fugitive
