Posted on 11/23/2004 11:17:04 AM PST by whodeani
Suspect says hunters provoked him
Vang says he was surrounded, called names and shot at before shootings
By JOHN DIEDRICH, LEE BERGQUIST and TOM HELD jdiedrich@journalsentinel.com Posted: Nov. 23, 2004
Hayward - The suspect arrested for shooting eight hunters, killing six of them, says he was surrounded by the group, called derogatory racial names and shot at before he opened fire, according to court records released today.
His account differs sharply from details released Monday by the Sheriff's Department and from the accounts from some of the victims, who describe an essentially unprovoked shooting rampage by Chai Soua Vang, a 36-year-old Hmong man from St. Paul, Minn.
Vang, a truck driver, is suspected in the slayings of six hunters and the wounding of two others, according to a probable cause determination signed by Judge Norman L. Yackel here this morning.
Vang is being held on $2.5 million cash bail.
Officials said the Wisconsin Attorney General's Office will prosecute the case, because of its scope and complexity.
Meanwhile, The two survivors continued to improve, officials said.
Terry Willers, the first hunter shot who was hit in the neck, was upgraded from serious to fair at St. Joseph's Hospital in Marshfield today.
Lauren Hesebeck, 48, was released from the hospital Monday night before 9 p.m. He was shot in the shoulder.
Theresa Hesebeck, also the sister of Denny Drew, who died Monday night, said the family was trying to regroup on Tuesday morning and that her husband was recovering at home.
"Your place is at home at a time like this," she said.
The couple have a blended family that includes seven children.
David Drew, a brother of Denny Drew, said Tuesday he was trying to come to grips with the death of his brother and close friends.
A prayer vigil is set for 7 tonight at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Haugen, where three of the victims lived.
Complete coverage of this story will appear online later today and in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in the morning.
Well let's just say someone in the hunting party is lying an did shoot first. That doesn't justify this Vang guy shooting the other seven. The five dead on the scence didn't have guns lying near them. What did they did do? Shoot at Vang first then they were shot dead and then threw their guns away after they were dead to cover up evidence.
So, let's review. He's alone, he's trespassing and approached by a group of people. Yes indeed, mowing them all down is surely a reasonable response. (sarcasm) Did he know he was trespassing? He was at a tree stand he himself didn't erect, so he had to know he wasn't where he needed to be. Called names? Yeah, that's provocation for murder. Alrighty then...
In that bastion of pc, he might just OJ his way out of it, sadly... Or they'll turn it into some Aclu racism thing and 'set precedent'. Either this guy is just that dumb (how did he pass the hunter safety course?) or a poacher caught in the act.
No it doesn't justify it, but you know something set him off... And if he was shot at first, they need to check the other weapons and see if they were fired... maybe he was justified..
Thanks, Granny. Trying to get some things done around here but the info still keeps rolling in, doesn't it?
It's called "Trespassing". It's also called "Poaching".
He was on somebody else's property without their permission, in their stand without their permission, armed without their permission. Legally, I don't think he has a leg to stand on. If they'd shot him down like a rabid dog, they could probably have successfully claimed self-defense.
IANAL
His lawyer got to him...." Answer NO questions. Scream RACISM and SELF-DEFENSE...." OJ did it, you can too...
8 of them, and one of him, and you are wondering who drew first?
what's your point
Like referring to the perp as a trespasser, and telling him to get off posted land?
He just might be telling the truth. Check out this thread http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1286879/posts where a freeper has dug up that one of the deceased was a convicted bank robber.
See this interesting post:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1286879/posts
No like pushing and shoving him and calling him a gook and a chink...
--Is this true? First I heard. I thought they all had guns, as in 'hunting party'. Who would be on a hunting party without a gun?--
Democrats.
Oops, I should not make a joke of this.
It seems per Fox News yesterday that the perp served in the US military.
"what's your point"
Lets see, uh....Ummmmm.... Boy, this is really a difficult one....
Apparently not. I was told that Hmongs have no written language. While I've read many positive things among Hmongs on FreeRepublic, IIRC there were problems with them in the Milwaukee area about 20 years ago...mainly they were rounding up neighbors dogs and having them for supper. So despite the glowing things they may have done in Vietnam, I think many had problems assimilating to American lifestyles.
"His lawyer got to him...." Answer NO questions. Scream RACISM and SELF-DEFENSE...." OJ did it, you can too..."
If this happens and the guy gets away with the murders, I have to believe that Wisconsin will turn from blue to red. That is if they have any sense....
See this interesting post:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1286879/posts
It's not the same guy. Why are you recklessly dragging the name of a dead man through the mud. The Robert Crotteau who robbed a bank is 26 years old now, the Robert Crotteau who was killed in cold blood by a trespassing animal was 42 years of age. Is it that hard to compare ages? Crotteau is a VERY common name in that area so do your research better before pinning this on some racist, rural, redneck sterotype which is unlikely to be true.
The way the radio call for help has been reported was along the lines of "I've been shot." I suspect the others rushed over expecting a hunting accident, not that there was a cold blooded killer waiting to gun them down too.
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