Prosecutors filed murder charges Tuesday against a man accused of brutally killing five people in a house in San Francisco’s Ingleside district the week before, as KTVU learned details of the man’s criminal past.

Binh Thai Luc, 35, was arrested Sunday morning in connection with the grisly killing of three women and two men inside a home at 16 Howth St. near City College of San Francisco.

Luc, a San Francisco resident, was charged Tuesday with five counts of murder with special circumstances for committing multiple murders and would be arraigned the following afternoon, district attorney's office spokesman Omid Talai said.

The prosecution’s filing came the same day KTVU had obtained records from the Santa Clara County Courthouse documenting the violence and weapons Luc and an accomplice used in two armed robberies they committed in San Jose back in 1996.

A San Jose police report from that time stated that two men – one later identified in a sketch as being Luc – were wanted armed robbery suspects that “had been victimizing Chinese businesses and robbing them at gunpoint."

In September of that year, police say Luc and his co-conspirator targeted the Fortune China restaurant, which is no longer around, but was formerly owned by Roger Lau, according to court documents.

The night of the robbery, the documents state that "Luc stuck a gun into Lau's back and told him, ‘Brother, we are here to rob.’"

Less than a month later, court records show the duo robbed a clothing warehouse in San Jose, which has since closed down.

Witness Jose Brisano said he used to work next door to the warehouse and remembers hearing the business owner screaming.

“She said, ‘He have a gun and they take my money!’ and that's it,” said Brisano.

Brisano then saw Luc holding a gun outside of his workplace. After Luc and his accomplice were tracked down and arrested, Brisano testified against Luc in one of two armed robbery cases.

When police caught the two, officers recovered a dagger, cable ties, duct tape, and a machete.

Records show right before one of the robbery victims was about to testify, he received a threatening phone call.

The person said "be careful what you're doing in court. I will kill you. I am going to take care of you and your family." The victim said he was 75% sure the caller was Luc.

Brisano said Tuesday that he never thought Luc would get a chance to possibly commit another crime as he thought Luc was still in prison.

Fast forward to last Friday morning, when a family member who entered the home around 7:45 a.m. and called 911 after encountering three of the bodies. Police responded and found two others dead in the home.

The medical examiner's office on Monday released the identities of the victims but has not released their cause of death, although police Chief Greg Suhr said some type of "edged weapon" was used.

The women were identified as Wan Yi Xu, 62; Chia Huei Chu, 30; and Ying Xue Lei, 37, and the men were identified as Hua Shun Lei, 65, and Vincent Lei, 32.

Suhr said investigators believe Luc had some sort of relationship with the victims but declined to elaborate.

Mayor Ed Lee, speaking at an unrelated event Tuesday, called the killings a "horrible tragedy."

Lee said that one of the victims, Hua Shun Lei, worked as a chef at R&G Lounge, which he called "one of my favorite restaurants in Chinatown."

"My heart goes out to that whole family," said Lee.

Lee also addressed information revealed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials on Monday indicating that Luc was ordered deported from the country in 2006 after finishing a prison term for a violent robbery a decade earlier.

However, authorities in Luc's native country of Vietnam declined to provide the appropriate travel documents for his deportation and he ultimately was released from ICE custody after 180 days because of a 2001 U.S. Supreme Court ruling preventing the extended detention of an illegal alien.

Lee said the case shows the need to reform the nation's immigration policy to provide another alternative in a case like Luc's.

"There wasn't anything we could possibly do locally," said Lee.

Luc's brother, Brian Luc, 32, was also arrested Sunday on unrelated drug and weapons charges. The brothers lived together at a home in San Francisco, although Suhr said Binh Thai Luc was not arrested at home.

Police were still investigating the deaths Tuesday. Anyone with information about the case was encouraged to call the Police Department's homicide detail at (415) 553-1451, the anonymous tip line at (415) 575-4444 or send a tip by text message to TIP411.