Salon owner sentenced to prison for trying to burn down competing salon

A woman who owned a nail salon will now spend 46 months in prison for attempting to set a competing nail salon on fire, according to federal prosecutors.

Officials said 46-year-old Kim Lien Vu of Liberty Township admitted in her September guilty plea that she'd conspired in the plot to cause damage to another business .

Federal prosecutors said Vu "developed animosity towards individuals at a competing nail salon" and began conspiring with her employee to "exact revenge" on the other salon as early as December 2022.

Officials allege Vu, along with 29-year-old Cierra Marie Bishop of Hamilton and 18-year-old Makahla Ann Rennick of Hamilton planted an incendiary device inside Bora Bora Nail Salon on Hamilton-Lebanon Road in Monroe.

On February 5, Bishop and Rennick can be seen on surveillance footage entering the nail salon, according to the press release. Officials said Rennick booked a pedicure under the name "Katelynn," allegedly at Vu's request.

According to the press release, Vu told Rennick to "just use another name. Sound white."

In the surveillance footage, Rennick can be seen receiving the pedicure, with Bishop sitting next to her, officials said, though she eventually can be seen walking toward the rear of the salon carrying two white bags.

Officials said Bishop placed one of the bags behind a desk before leaving the salon.

According to the press release, a salon employee found the planted device and reported it smelled like gasoline. The employee allegedly opened the package and saw it looked like an explosive device; they then took it outside near the salon's dumpsters. Officials said when that employee went back outside to check on it, it was burning.

Monroe police then responded to the nail salon for a reported dumpster fire.

Officials said text messages found on Bishop's and Rennick's phones revealed the three had been planning on planting the device for at least one week.

“A preliminary review of the iPhone belonging to Bishop provided evidence that VU enlisted Bishop, with the help of Rennick, to build the incendiary device with a remote ignition and plant the device at the salon on Feb. 5. From the text messages, it appears that the plan was to detonate or ignite the device that evening and destroy the salon. It further appears that this plan between Vu, Bishop, and Rennick was referred to in text messages as “Job l,” according to court documents.

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