A man charged with driving with a license under an assumed name, which lawmen believe had something to do with his violating the sexual registration law, has been sentenced for criminal impersonation.
The suspect, Dieu Cong Pham, 31, aka Thoi The Ngyen, was ordered to serve seven days of a six-month sentence and perform 32 hours public service work for criminal impersonation. The more serious charge of violating the sexual offender registration law was dismissed with the court ordering the issue between Tennessee and his former state of Minnesota needs to be resolved.
Pham was arrested last year for driving on a suspended license following a traffic stop by sheriff’s deputy Jason Richardson. It was then the suspect reportedly claimed his alias of Ngyen was his real name and he was booked under that name. However, a check of Ngyen’s fingerprints through the national crime computer during his booking revealed the man is really Pham and he is a convicted sex offender from Minnesota living in Warren County.
A check revealed Pham had not registered himself here as is required for all convicted sex offenders. The law requires registration of any change of address for a convicted offender within 48 hours of the move.
Following his original arrest and bonding out on the suspended license charge, authorities were surprised to discover Pham had gone to the state driver licensing center and obtained another driver license under the Ngyen name.
“I arrested him on Sept. 3 for driving on a suspended license under the name Thoi The Ngyen,” Richardson said. “On Sept. 20 he applied for, and received, a new Tennessee driver’s license under the name Thoi The Ngyen, the same name for which I originally arrested him two weeks earlier.”
It was not revealed how Pham was able to obtain a new driver’s license under his assumed name.