Saturday morning Du (Yu) Doan went fishing at Montrose Harbor at Lake Michigan, like he did almost every day. Sadly, he died doing one of the things he loved the most. Police believe that he is a victim of a hate crime, simply because he is Asian. Du was pushed into Lake Michigan where he drowned. Some people who know him said he did not know how to swim, but, according to his neighbor Jan Teman, he did not know how to swim, so this surprised her.
Several witnesses have told police what they saw. It has been reported on Chicago Fishing that a group of individuals, 4 males and 1 female, walked up to the fisherman and pushed him into the water and then turned around and started laughing as they walked away. Unfortunately, this is not the first time this has happened. There has been at least one other victim, but he was able to swim and he survived. The descriptions of the suspect from the Doan murder match the other incident as well.
The suspects are described as follows:
One suspect is described as a white male, about 5-foot-6 with brown hair cut in a “buzz cut.” He was last seen wearing a dark, possibly a flight-style jacket. The second suspect is described as a slim white male, about 6-foot-1 with large ears, last seen wearing a white T-shirt and a jacket, also possibly a flight-style. Police said his general appearance is described as a “skin head.”Two other suspects, a man and woman, are only described by police as white, ages 18 to 19, the alert said.The fifth suspect is described as a black male with a bald head, last seen wearing a red shirt.
Tonight, Monday night, however, 3 of the suspects turned themselves in, after giving an exclusive interview to Chicago CBS2. It is an interesting interview, although not a total surprise. After all of the publicity of this crime possibly being a “hate crime”, I am sure that they wanted to make themselves look better, a bit more sympathetic. However, what they say happened does not match what other witnesses saw. John Haley (the slim tattooed male), the one suspected of actually pushing Du, said he accidentally bumped into Du while running to catch up with his friends. Well, if that was true, wouldn’t he have noticed that the man fell into the Lake when he bumped into him? Heard him crash into the water? It would have made a splashing sound when he hit. And I will bet that Du actually made some noise, yelling or screaming. I don’t think that the pier was so crowded that he would not have noticed this. Or maybe his parents just raised a plain rude, mean child who did not care when he “bumped” into someone (I was taught to at least say excuse me).
John Haley and the other suspect, Bryant Thomas (male in the red shirt) have both been in prison, although have been out for a while. One was in prison for a stabbing and the other for drugs (it was not said which did which crime). The other suspect who turned herself in was Katherine Hoffman, who is the owner of the car. They have all admitted to being what they call “skinheads”, but said they are not white supremacists, so I am not sure what they are. I am guessing that since this is not working out the way they thought, they are just trying to cover their tracks. They probably never thought about what they were doing, that these pranks could actually hurt or kill someone. And when it did, I bet it did scare them and now they need to cover their tracks. However, there are apparently 2 other suspects out there. I am sure that the other 2 will be brought in soon, if they do not also turn themselves in.
Du Doan Murder
Suspects sought in possible hate crime murder
Hate-crime angle considered
Police Say The Homicide Possibly be Race-Related or a Hate-Crime
Police Seek 5 Suspects in Possible Hate Crime
Alleged Hate Crime Suspects Turn Themselves In
**updated**
Charges Expected Against Man In Montrose Harbor Drowning
Police interview 3 in drowning
Police Investigating Possible Hate Crime in Fisherman’s Lake Michigan Drowning
Filed under: crime, murder, murder in the 21st Century | Tagged: 2007, Bryant Thomas, Chicago, drowning, Du Doan, homicide, Illinois, John Haley, Katherine Hoffman |
Bonnie's Blog of Crime 
I have known Hailey for 11 years. This was not an act of wanting to hurt anyone. I do think he will get sentenced for a foolish act turning to into a horrible ending.. but I know this was not a hate crime nor was it intentional. Do not let looks deceive you. He is a hard working individual who has never hurt anyone nor does he have a record of it.
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“unknown”
Since both male suspects who turned themselves in last night had criminal records, and you say he does not have a record of hurting anyone, then he is the one with the record for drugs, correct?
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i know them too and know this was intentional i cant believe you would ride his dick so hard to stick up for this person when if you know him you have to know that he shoved some old man into a lake to his death. never hurt anyone, fucking liar. this dude is 30 years old and beats people up to show off to 15 year old girls hes trying to fuck. he also is a lazy piece of shit that lives off of his girlfriends and maybe only recently held a job. so…shut the fuck up
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I feel bad for the old guy. I hope justice will be served.
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oh rich boy f$%kn loser. why not join a gym and be a boxer if you think you are so tough. This guy needs to be in prison on the southside for a while.
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i think he deserves the absolute highest sentence possible… @sshole. how could he possibly think pushing a helpless old man into the lake was funny or amusing. being drunk isn’t an excuse for his actions. and not being intentional?! didnt he do the same exact thing to another fisherman the weekend prior? … my condolences to the du doan family.
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i hope he will be sent to jail for life…c’mon now…he did it before and got away with it and now got caught ’cause someone died? what a punk…and his friends are buncha idiots for standing up for him.
I just feel bad that I wasn’t jogging around Montrose harbor that morning, perhaps I could have made a difference and save that man’s life. well, rot in jail idiot !!!
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“unknown”
If you read this story:
http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/local_story_248062320.html
it does not paint your “friend” in such a good light. And what I mean is not just about this incident, but this:
>>>
This is not Haley’s first run in with police. Haley has a record of six felony convictions, has been arrested 10 times and has served jail time for drug possession, Riccio said.
<<<<<
AND from the Chicago Tribune:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-070904drowning,1,6245466.story?coll=chi_tab01_layout&ctrack=3&cset=true
>>>
Haley was sentenced to 6 months in prison for a 2001 felony conviction for cocaine possession, court records show. Two years ago, he was convicted of battery for hitting a person in the head with a barbell, prosecutors said.
<<<<
I thought you said his record would show that he had never hurt anyone? Isn’t battery hurting someone? Especially with a barbell????
Not a very law-abiding citizen, huh?
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After watching the video tape, I would say that they sound very convincing. A problem I’m having though is even if they didn’t hear him fall in the water, it seems like there should have been some sort of commotion afterwards that would have gotten their attention. Sigh, I don’t know, I guess the truth will come to light.
May God bless Mr. Doan’s family at this time.
Peace
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ok, so I just saw the update. The guy was charged with murder. So sad how some people can do such thoughtless things. So sad.
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To me it’s not a question of whether he did it or not …I know Johnny ….not all that well …but he did seem to pride himself on the fact that he liked to start fights …and has been banned from every bar in Chicago ….he does definitely have some issues with anger …and isn’t very popular in many social circles ……My problem with all this is the way the media has treated this matter as to his affiliation with SHARP….and his tattoos and whatnot ….to Quote the Suntimes he is a “heavily tattooed loser “…I feel quotes and comments such as these have made him some sort of scapegoat …making him some spectacle for being of a certain “type” of person …..AS many people know there are many heavily tattooed people …many people who belong to SHARP that are not “losers” in anyway ….One article even described the suspects as “gothic “….it’s ludacris….It’s just appears to be some sort of vigilante justice that is being portrayed here …and I think that some light should be shed on the fact that being a cookie cutter image of society’s standards ….does not automatically make you a degenerate …all that should matter are the facts ….not tattoos or haircuts ….
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Hes lying about the sharp thing, he’s not one. hes not a “white power” skinhead either, but hes not a sharp
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I understand that …I was just commenting on the fact that the media has decided to completely ignore the fact that skinheads didn’t even originate with neo nazi’s …but as a working -class movement in which a faction of people distorted these beliefs into what is identified by the American publc as a symbol of hate ….but there are many “skinheads” that are deeply opposed to these beliefs …it’s not really any different than thinking every Muslim belongs to the taliban …It’s only a scare tactic based in the publics ignorance …as far as Johnny goes ….I don’t care what he is …cause he’s basically just an asshole as far as anyone is concerned ….no matter what group he belongs to …..
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i know what skinheads are, its annoying that this is yet another time where everyone is running to explain and defend themselves, the spiel is true but played out
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This is just like the case in Knoxville (Channon Christian,Chris Newson) where a white couple were tortured but murdered by blacks. Hopefully in both cases the perpetrators will be charged with hate crimes legislation.
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Why should he be charged with a hate crime when it wasn’t? how the fuck could it be a hate crime when he was hanging out with duane, the black guy? I know johnny. There is no doubt in my mind that johnny did this, he’s a piece of shit. He deserves jail time, even though i can also guarantee that he had no intention of killing that man. The point is johnny finally crossed the line and ended up killing a guy and hopefully this will set him straight although i doubt it. This was no hate crime, they’ve come to this conclusion and it’s been explained at a press conference. and as far as him pushing another guy in the weekend prior, i don’t know anything about it so i won’t say for sure he did it, but knowing johnny, he did. I’m just saying don’t judge him for being a skin, judge him for being an asshole prick.
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Amen …That’s what I said …
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You want to hear a little fact……… bipolar disorder runs in John’s family. What he probably needs is medical help. He probably has for quite some time. Why don’t you all do a little research and rethink your hateful words about someone I love.
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“Someone”
Bipolar Disorder does not make a person not know the difference between right and wrong, so it does not apply here. It does not make him insane nor does he need “medical” help. He needs psychological help and maybe medication, but not the type of help you make it sound like. I have studied psychology, so don’t go there. John can get the help he needs in prison. You may love him, but that does not excuse his behavior, nor change the fact that he killed someone that had a family and friends that loved him. You are certainly not implying that John, the murderer, is more important than the victim he killed?
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no, not implying, just saying he needs help and im pretty sure that the psychological field kinda is part of the medical field…. hmmmm dont ya think? anyway……. I’m sorry for his dumb behavior. I do feel bad for the victim. You may have studied psychology……… I never said it can make him insane but they do have ups and downs and can go in fits of rage for no reason. I have lived with 2 people diagnosed with this disorder. Have you?
I would just like to not read comments from people who obviously had encounters with him writing hateful words that dont relate to this crime.
So he’s an asshole prick, I’m a bitch.
and im ending this here
thx for the opportunity to let me speak
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You might love him and I respect that ….but having a tendency towards fits of rage does relate to this crime ….I never had “encounters”with him ….as I stated before I don’t know him all that well …but I have heard similar stories come from his own mouth …with much pride in his voice …I have known and lived with many people with Bi Polar disorder ….who don’t think things like pushing an innocent man into Lake Michigan are cool things to do ……He did this horrible thing and he has to be punished for it …frankly ….you are going to have to come to terms with the fact that….he doesn’t have alot of friends in this town …and that people are going to judge him for this act…..this isn’t a misdemeanor …he killed someone ….whether he meant to do it …or whether you love him or not …maybe that’s something to “rethink”….and no one called you a bitch …
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youre actually probably just one of the many sluts he has sex with. he probably is depressed hes a huge loser. you know he gave a 15 year old girl the clap a couple years ago, and then when her mother called the house desperately looking for her he told her “your slut daughter has the clap now” . youre just some whore defending a loser, not a bitch. i know you love him and all it must be really hard for you to see him go through this, those horrible repercussions for killing an old man
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[…] in Chicago, Du Doan, a 62 year-old Vietnamese man was apparently pushed into Lake Michigan and subsequently drowned. […]
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John Haley was convicted later in court for this and the police records show that he pushed another man into the same lake prior to this. They are part of the growing gangs in the Chicago area that may be racist.
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