MANHATTAN BEACH : Detainee Not Ruled Out as Suspect in Officer’s Slaying

A man wanted for questioning in the Dec. 27 murder of Manhattan Beach Police Officer Martin Ganz has not been identified as the killer by witnesses who were shown photographs of him. However, Phuc Huu Nguyen, 25, being held on federal charges in Virginia, has not been eliminated as a suspect in the case, officials said.

“Witnesses in the case were shown photos of the suspect,” Los Angeles County sheriff’s spokeswoman Irma Becerra said. “They did not identify him as the killer, but he has not been completely disregarded as a suspect by homicide detectives.” The suspect in the case has been described as an Asian man, possibly Filipino, 25 to 39 years old.

Nguyen was named as a possible suspect in one of more than 1,800 telephone tips received by the task force investigating the slaying. He was arrested in Virginia by immigration agents Monday for failing to obey a federal deportation order, and is expected to be returned to California for questioning in the Ganz case.