VTA employee owed homicide victim NFL gambling debt: court documents

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) — A Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority employee was charged with first-degree murder on Wednesday for the death of his co-worker following a shooting in a VTA bus yard.

The accused killer, Duc Minh Bui, and the homicide victim, Regulus Teotico, worked as bus drivers and were assigned to Chaboya Division Yard, VTA officials said.

Bui, 33, did not enter a plea during his first court appearance Wednesday afternoon in the Santa Clara County Hall of Justice. He stood just outside the courtroom, behind his defense attorney, inside a hallway used for jail inmates. News reporters sitting in the courtroom gallery were unable to photograph Bui while he remained in the hallway.

Teotico worked for the VTA for a decade and was a father of two. He was found suffering from fatal gunshot wounds on the night of September 20 in Chaboya Division Yard, located at 2240 South 7th Street in San Jose.

A Santa Clara County Sheriff’s captain said investigators believe that the killing was motivated by money. Bui and Teotico were involved in gambling activities outside of work, the captain said, and there was “money owed between the two.”

One witness, who is also a VTA employee, told investigators that on September 16 or 17, Teotico called him and said a co-worker owned him money from betting on NFL and college football games, Sheriff’s Sgt. Hakeem Lee wrote in court documents obtained by KRON4.

Teotico described the co-worker with football gambling debts as “a chubby Vietnamese guy,” Lee wrote.

On September 20, Teotico called the witness again and said the man who owed him money was going to pay the debt after he was done working his shift.

“Teotico wanted (the witness) to be there for him and make sure things went smoothly for when Teotico’s coworker gave him the money,” Lee wrote.

On the night of September 20, the witness was driving on South 7th Street when he saw Teotico’s black Mercedes parked next to a white car in the VTA bus yard’s parking lot. The witness saw two men talking by the cars.

The witness was about to park his car when he heard two or three “bangs” ring out from the parking lot, Lee wrote. After he followed the white car briefly, the witness decided to turn around and check on Teotico. The witness saw “Teotico was slumped over backwards sitting in the driver’s seat with blood coming from his nose,” Lee wrote. The witness called 911.

VTA security cameras recorded Bui shooting Teotico, according to court documents. Two VTA supervisors watched the surveillance video with investigators and confirmed to detectives that Bui was the gunman seen in the video, Lee wrote.

Deputy District Attorney Michael Gilman said the surveillance video shows Bui reaching into a bag, pulling out a gun, and firing several shots at Teotico.

Less than 48 hours after the homicide, Bui was arrested on Sunday as he was leaving his home in San Jose. Detectives found three .40-caliber shell casings at the crime scene, and two .40-caliber Glock 22 handguns at Bui’s house, court documents state.

Lee wrote in court documents, “I believe that (suspect) Bui murdered victim Teotico.”

Bui’s arraignment was delayed on Wednesday until December 10. A judge ordered him to remain in custody without bail.

Some VTA employees are still traumatized from a 2021 mass shooting that left nine of their co-workers dead. On May 26, 2021, a disgruntled employee opened fire inside a break room at the transit agency’s Guadalupe Division building. The gunman, 57-year-old Samuel James Cassidy , killed himself as law enforcement officers rushed into the building.

Sheriff Bob Jonsen acknowledged that the most recent shooting brings back concerns over workplace violence. Jonsen said, “It’s not lost on us that this incident brings back the memories … where nine employees lost their lives. People need to feel safe when they come to work.”

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