- Actor Mark Wahlberg is seeking a pardon for violent crime he committed aged 16
- He was teenager in Boston when he punched Johnny Trinh in the eye and beat another Vietnamese man around the head
- Wahlberg knocked Johnny Trinh to the ground as he fled other attack and then shouted racial abuse about 'g***s'
- At time Trinh was said to have been blinded in one eye and Wahlberg was charged with attempted murder
- He served 45 days and when in custody began to turn his life around
- MailOnline has found Trinh - and victim says he had no idea who attacked him, forgives the star and wants to meet him face to face
- Trinh, now a married father reveals he actually lost eye before attack when he served alongside US forces fighting Communists in South Vietnam
For
the past 26 years Hollywood superstar Mark Wahlberg has believed he left
a Vietnamese man blind in one eye after brutally assaulting him during
his wayward teenage years.
He
spent 45 days in jail for the attack but has now made a plea for the
crime to be pardoned having turned his life around to become one of the
most famous actors in the world.
His
victim has never spoken about the vicious assault in 1988 but has
broken a more than two decade long silence to reveal that the actor did
not actually cause him any serious harm - and that until he was told by
MailOnline, he had no idea his assailant had become a famous actor.
In
his first ever interview since the attack Johnny Trinh revealed to Mail
Online he was already blind in one eye after being injured while
fighting the Communists in the Vietnam War.
Forgiveness: Johnny Trinh was
assaulted by actor Mark Wahlberg in 1988. He said that he believed the
actor should be allowed a fresh start - and that until MailOnline told
him had no idea he was attacked by a celebrity
On the way to rehabilitation: Wahlberg
as rapper Marky Mark in 1991, three years after the attack on Mr Trinh
and a series of other crimes
Plea: The form pardon application by Mark Wahlberg in which he asks for the crime he committed at 16 to be wiped from his record
While Wahlberg's unprovoked assault left him shaken it did not cause any lasting damage.
'I was not blinded by Mark Wahlberg,' said 59-year-old Vietnamese-born Trinh.
'He did hurt me, but my left eye was already gone. He was not responsible for that.'
In
an exclusive interview with Mail Online Trinh said he is happy for
Wahlberg to be given a pardon saying: 'He was young and reckless but I
forgive him now. Everyone deserves another chance.
'I would like to see him get a pardon. He should not have the crime hanging over him any longer.'
Trinh added that he would like to meet Wahlberg face to face to tell him he does not bear a grudge.
'He
paid for his crime when he went to prison. I am not saying that it did
not hurt when he punched me in the face, but it was a long time ago.
'He has grown up now. I am sure he has his own family and is a responsible man.'
When
Mail Online tracked down Trinh - who was born Hoa but uses the name
Johnny - to a duplex in Arlington, Texas, he had no idea his assailant
went on to become one of Hollywood's most bankable stars.
Wahlberg, 43, has made no secret about his past as a teenage tearaway.
While Trinh's name was in court documents he has never spoken to the media about what took place.
Married life: Johnny Trinh, on his
wedding day to fellow Vietnamese refugee Hoa Du Trinh. The couple now
live in Arlington, Texas, and had no idea who his assailant was
Family life: Mr Trinh, his wife Hoa
and children Steven (foreground) and Tammy (right) outside a Buddhist
temple in Arlington Texas, where they now live
Ordeal: Mr Trinh had to flee Vietnam
when the Communist North overran the pro-American South, ending the
Vietnam war. He became one of the 'boat people'
The assault on Trinh took place in April 1988 when Wahlberg was 16.
He tried to rob a Vietnamese man carrying crates of beer to his store in Dorchester, near Boston, Massachusetts.
According to court documents Wahlberg approached Thanh Lam and smashed him over the head with a five-foot long wooden stick.
Wahlberg shouted at the Thanh calling him 'a f****** Vietnamese s****'.
Lam was knocked unconscious and Wahlberg fled empty handed.
Moments later he approached Trinh and told him 'Police coming, police coming, let me hide.'
After the patrol car left, he punched Trinh in the eye.
Trinh later identified Wahlberg and he was arrested and charged with attempted murder for the double assault.
He eventually pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of assault and was given a two year jail sentence with 21 months suspended.
Although
16 at the time of the attack he was charged as an adult. Court
documents show that he pled guilty to both counts, meaning Trinh and the
other victim did not have to give evidence.
Wahlberg was released after serving just 45 days at the Suffolk County Deer Island House of Correction.
He
quit his life of crime, found fame as the rapper 'Marky Mark' and later
embarked on an acting career that has earned him an estimated $200m
fortune.
Films
such as 'The Departed' and 'The Fighter' have made him the most
bankable star in Hollywood. He reportedly earned $16m for the latest
'Transformers' film.
But he has always been haunted by his troubled past and has made no attempt to gloss over his years as a teenage thug.
But
now the actor has written to the Governor of Massachusetts seeking a
criminal pardon saying he is now a model citizen who is heavily involved
in charity work, including the Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation that
helps at risk teens.
Scene of crime: Mr Trinh was grabbed by Wahlberg, who as fleeing another assault, then punched in the eye
One of the reasons for the pardon is thought to be the planned expansion of his restaurant chain 'Wahlburgers'.
'Everyone
has an opinion and has a reason why they think I'm doing it,' the actor
said on Wednesday at the New York premiere of his new movie 'The
Gambler,' opening December 25.
'I've
been working very hard to correct a lot of mistakes that I made since
the day that I woke up and realized, 'You know what? I need to be a
leader instead of a follower,'' he said.
However, some Asian Americans are wary of his motivation and wondering why he has never personally apologized.
A
group called 18MR, short for 18MillionRising.org, which promotes civic
engagement among Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States, has
voiced its opposition to the pardon. So far almost 3,000 signatured have
been collected.
With his criminal conviction he could be denied licenses to open restaurants in California and other states.
Having
the crime expunged from his official record would allow Wahlberg to
apply for licences that otherwise might have been refused.
It would also allow him to work for law enforcement.
In
his written plea he says: 'I am deeply sorry for the actions that I
took on the night of April 8, 1988, as well as for any lasting damage I
may have caused the victims.
'Since
that time, I have dedicated myself to becoming a better person and
citizen so that I can be a role model to my children and others.'
He
goes on to say: 'Rather than ignore or deny my troubled past, I have
used the public spotlight to speak openly about the mistakes I made as a
teenager so that other do not make those same mistakes.'
Trinh, a father of two, said he is willing to forgive Wahlberg's 'mistake'.
He
admitted he had forgotten all about the assault and had not even told
his wife Hoa Du, 50, and children Tammy,21, and Steven,18, about the
events of 1988.
Sitting
on a cream leather sofa in his living room, Trinh admitted he had never
heard of Wahlberg and had not seen any of his films.
He
wasn't even aware of the name of his attacker from 26 years ago and had
no idea he was one of Hollywood's biggest names until told by Mail
Online.
Speaking
in faltering English and with his 21-year-old daughter acting as an
interpreter he recalled the assault on a street in Dorchester, near
Boston.
Trinh had moved to the city from Illinois and was working as a machine operator.
Family guy: Wahlberg (above with wife
Rhea Durham and three of his children and Kevin Hart) is now committed
to multiple charities and attends church every day
New start? Mark Wahlberg and Rhea
Durham attend 'The Gambler' premiere. Wahlberg wants to become an LAPD
reserve cop. But a felony conviction from his youth may block his
attempt to become a volunteer
'I
was on my way home from work. I just remember a man coming up to me,
saying something and then he hit me hard in the face,' he said.
'He knocked me down and I got up and ran. I was scared that he was going to hit me again. I just wanted to get away.
'I
had never seen him before and did not know why he wanted to hit me. The
guy was crazy, he must have been out of his mind on drugs.
'It was very frightening at the time. I did not know why he would want to do this.'
Trinh said he did not have health insurance and did not seek hospital treatment.
While
his left eye was bruised from the assault he did not lose the sight –
having lost the use of his eye in 1975 five years before he came to the
US.
Trinh was with a South Vietnamese army unit fighting with US forces against the Communist North when a grenade blew him up.
He
knocked me down and I got up and ran. I was scared that he was going to
hit me again. I just wanted to get away.'I had never seen him before
and did not know why he wanted to hit me. The guy was crazy, he must
have been out of his mind on drugs.
Johnny Trinh
A piece of shrapnel lodged in his left eye and his right eye.
'Doctors
had to take my eye out. I was given a false eye. Having one eye has
affected what jobs I can do, but I did not lose my sight when I was
punched by this man.'
Media reports for the last 26 years have asserted Trinh was blinded by Wahlberg with a single punch.
Even Wahlberg believes his assault on Trinh was so serious that he caused him lasting damage.
In
his plea for a pardon to Deval Patrick, the governor of Massachusetts,
the 43 year old star says: 'From later accounts of the incident, it is
my understanding I might have caused serious injury to (names
redacted).'
The
revelation that Wahlberg did not blind former Vietnam War veteran Trinh
will no doubt come as a huge relief to the 'Transformers' star.
Trinh's backing for a pardon will go long way to persuade officials that his request be considered favorably.
Officials
from Massachusetts have written to Trinh to ask if he would like to
travel to Boston to make a statement either agreeing with the pardon or
speaking out against it.
Trinh said he cannot afford to fly to Boston but will make a written statement backing the actor.
'It is only right that he get the pardon. It was over 25 years ago and that is a lot of time.
'To be honest I have not really thought about it very much. I have just got on with my life with my family.
'Time moves on and it is something I have not dwelled on too much.'
Trinh's
wife of 22 years was unaware her husband was the victim of the assault
and his daughter Tammy said her father had never talked about the
incident.
She admitted she was a fan of Wahlberg and was shocked to learn he carried out the assault.
'It is kind of surprising. My father has never once mentioned the assault and to hear it was Mark Wahlberg is kind of crazy.'
Trinh, who earns $9 an hour working in a clothing store printing logos on T-shirts, immigrated to the US in 1980.
Modest: Mr Trinh now lives with his
family in a small home in Arlington, Texas, and earns $9 an hour
printing logos on t-shirts. He says: 'Life has been tough.'
Family: Trinh's daughter Tammy (left)
said of learning her father was attacked by a star: 'It is kind of
surprising. My father has never once mentioned the assault and to hear
it was Mark Wahlberg is kind of crazy.
He
faced a perilous three day boat journey from Vietnam to Singapore after
US forces left and Communist rulers took over the country.
'I could not stay because I fought with the Americans. I could have been killed and had to leave.
'The boat journey was terrible and we had no food, we all thought we were going to die, but made it to Singapore.'
Trinh said he spent several years in Singapore before his brother was able to sponsor him to enter the US.
He settled in Springfield, Illinois, where doctors were able to fit him with a new false eye.
Due to the shrapnel injury the left eye remains partially closed.
I
could not stay because I fought with the Americans. I could have been
killed and had to leave.'The boat journey was terrible and we had no
food, we all thought we were going to die, but made it to Singapore.
Trinh said a friend offered him work in Dorchester and he moved to live with him in 1988.
Trinh
did not give evidence at Wahlberg's trial, as he pleaded guilty. He
said he was not asked to make an impact statement and got on with his
life.
Shortly after moving to Arlington he meet his wife Hoa Du and the couple were married in 1992.
Trinh said his life has been a struggle and a nail salon business he ran in Cedar Hills, Texas, went under in the recession.
'I
have never had much money and it has been hard here,' said Trinh. He
was also convicted of passing a forged cheque in 2010 and was on
probation for two years.
By contrast since their fateful meeting on a darkened street in Dorchester Wahlberg's life has been one of fame and fortune.
The 45 days he spent in prison brought him to his senses.
He
quit his addiction to cocaine, that began when he was 13 and with the
help of a parish priest quit his life of crime and violence.
By 1992 he had achieved fame as the rapper Marky Mark and later became a Calvin Klein underwear model.
His breakout movie role came playing an adult film star Dirk Diggler in 'Boogie Nights.'
Other
roles followed in films such as 'The Perfect Storm' , 'Three Kings' and
'Rock Star' but he became an A-list star in 2007 when he won an Oscar
nomination for Best Supporting actor in 'The Departed' opposite Leonardo
Di Caprio and Jack Nicholson.
Pardon? It will ultimately be up to
newly elected Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker (above) to decide
whether or not Wahlberg should be pardoned
The gangster film was set on the same streets where Wahlberg had grown up as one of nine children.
In 2011 he got his second Oscar nomination for 'The Fighter' – another film set in his hometown of Boston.
As well as acting Wahlberg branched out and produced TV hits such as 'Entourage' and 'Boardwalk Empire.'
Last
year he starred in 'Lone Survivor' playing real life Navy SEAL Marcus
Luttrell in a harrowing story of a mission in Afghanistan that went
tragically wrong.
His
latest film 'The Gambler' opens in the New Year and he has been named
as a producer of a big screen remake of the 1970s TV series 'The Six
Billion Dollar Man.'
Wahlberg, a devout Catholic, has been married to model Rhea Durham since 2009. They met in 2001 and have four children.
His
charity work includes heading up the Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation for
at-risk teens, and supporting the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and
The Good Shepherd Center for Homeless Women and Children.
In
his plea for a pardon Wahlberg said having the criminal record expunged
would 'be a formal recognition that I am not the same person that I was
on the night of April 8th 1988.
It
would be formal recognition that someone like me and receive official
public redemption if he devotes himself to personal improvement and a
life of good works.
'My
hope is that, if I receive a pardon, troubled youths will see this as
an inspiration and motivation that they too can turn their live around
and be accepted back into society.
'It would also be an important capstone to the lessons that I try to teach my own children on a daily basis.'
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