Jury trial scheduled for man accused of fatally shooting man at Bloomington restaurant

Krystal Frasier KSTP

Aaron Le (Kay County Jail, Oklahoma)

Court records show a man will face a jury later this year for allegedly shooting one man and injuring another man last year at a Bloomington restaurant.

According to a court register, 48-year-old Aaron Le appeared during an omnibus hearing Wednesday morning and entered a demand for a jury trial.

That trial is now scheduled to begin on Monday, September 18, 2023.

As previously reported by 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, Le has been formally charged with one count of second-degree murder and another charge of attempted second-degree murder.

Le was arrested in Oklahoma on November 24 for a shooting that happened at Cô Tư Oriental Cuisine, which is in a shopping center near 89th Street and Penn Avenue, according to Bloomington police.

A 49-year-old patron, Tu Anh Phan, was killed, and a 25-year-old server was shot twice but is expected to recover.

According to the complaint, Le walked to the table the customer was sitting at and pointed a gun at Phan. Le was then chased out of the restaurant but came back in. Multiple people tried to take the gun out of Le’s hand and get him outside, but he shot the 49-year-old multiple times, according to the complaint.

According to the complaint, witnesses said a middle-aged man wore a Halloween mask and a maroon-colored hooded top, and the suspect dropped the gun, picked it up and put it in a Ziploc bag before leaving in a white van. Witnesses also said a second handgun was left at the scene.

Surveillance video showed a man looking in the restaurant and at where Phan was inside. The man then came in, stood by the register and went back to the front door. The complaint says the man walked out and back into the restaurant and looked at the customer. He walked to the door and opened it for Le, and then walked out, but watched the events from outside the restaurant’s window.

A witness said the man eventually left in a dark-colored SUV. Police later clarified that they’ve determined that man wasn’t involved in the shooting in any way and aren’t looking for anyone else.

The document goes on to say the 49-year-old customer was dating a woman who either recently divorced, or was in the process of divorcing, a man named Khai Le, and Le was jealous of the man’s interactions with his ex. Le had previously changed his legal name from Khai Ngoc Le to Aaron Le.

Earlier this year, the complaint says an FBI report was filed regarding a “contract to kill” call between Le, his ex-wife and the customer.

If convicted, Le faces a maximum of 40 years in prison.