A Miami judge is now weighing whether the man who admitted killing a 10-year-old boy inside his parents’ nail salon more than a decade ago should be executed or spend the rest of his life in prison. On Monday, the boy’s parents took the stand and described how the shooting blew apart their daily lives and family rituals, while audio of the 911 call from that night played in court and the defendant sat stone-still at the defense table.
Hai Vu, the boy’s father, told the court, “I forgive him,” and explained that the family no longer celebrates holidays, according to CBS Miami. The outlet also reported that Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez will make the final call on punishment and that the hearing is set to resume Tuesday morning, when the defendant may choose to testify.
How the shooting unfolded
Prosecutors say the killing was the bloody end to a robbery that netted only a few hundred dollars. Ragan pleaded guilty last month in open court to felony charges that include robbery, assault and first-degree murder, according to Local 10. Surveillance footage shows two men bursting into the salon and, prosecutors say, fleeing with about $300 before gunfire erupted; the boy was later pronounced dead and his father was hospitalized, as detailed by Law&Crime.
Arguments over punishment
In court, the battle is now over what punishment fits a crime that left a child dead and a family permanently scarred. Prosecutor Scott Warfman argued that the killing was part of a month-long run of violent felonies and said the death penalty is justified. Defense attorney Tony Moss countered that Ragan has long-standing behavioral and mental-health problems and insisted that an execution would not bring the family the closure people often assume it does, CBS Miami reported.
Ragan’s criminal record
Prosecutors say the nail salon shooting was just one stop in a wider November 2013 crime spree that also included a separate motel killing. Ragan was convicted in that case last year, and jurors chose not to impose the death penalty, according to NBC Miami. Hoodline previously covered Ragan’s earlier sentencing in 2025 under the headline sentenced to life…