August 8, 2023 – SANTA ANA, CA – An Orange County man was sentenced on Monday to life in federal prison for the October 2019 murder of a man whose body was found floating in the Pacific Ocean with bullet and blunt force trauma wounds.

Hoang Xuan Le, 42, a.k.a. “Wayne,” and “Wangsta,” of Fountain Valley, was sentenced by United States District Judge David O. Carter.

At the conclusion of a 17-day trial in December 2021, a jury found Le guilty of first-degree murder within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, conspiracy to commit murder, and using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. In February 2022, Le pleaded guilty to eight narcotics-related felonies, including distribution of cocaine and methamphetamine.

On the night of October 15, 2019, Le lured the victim onto a boat owned by Sheila Marie Ritze, 43, of San Juan Capistrano, at Dana Point Harbor, with the promise of a late-night fishing trip. The victim owed Le a debt.

Around midnight, Ritze drove her boat out into the Pacific Ocean with Le and the victim on board. Le shot the victim on the boat, the victim went overboard, and Ritze and Le left the victim to die in the ocean, where he drowned. Le and Ritze then returned to Dana Point Harbor.

The victim’s body was recovered from the Pacific Ocean several miles northwest of Oceanside on October 16, 2019. The San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that he was a homicide victim who drowned after being shot and suffering blunt force trauma.

“Le committed murder, and, as a result, [the victim’s] family will never see him again,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum. “Le’s crime has left a grieving mother, grieving widow, grieving brothers, a grieving sister, and two fatherless small children.”

On April 17, Ritze was sentenced to almost 22 years in federal prison for her role in the murder. Ritze was convicted of one count of second-degree murder within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, and one count of making false statements to federal investigators.

The Coast Guard Investigative Service and the FBI investigated this matter.

Assistant United States Attorneys Greg Scally and Gregory W. Staples of the Santa Ana Branch Office prosecuted this case.