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Vang found guilty on all counts in hunter killings (Wisconsin)
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel ^ | 9/16/05

Posted on 09/16/2005 3:42:58 PM PDT by Jean S

Chai Soua Vang was found guilty this afternoon of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of six hunters in Wisconsin's north woods last fall.

A jury of eight women and four men deliberated about four hours before coming to their verdict.

Vang was also found guilty of two counts of attempted homicide in the shootings of two other hunters who survived.

Killed in the confrontation last Nov. 21 were Dennis Drew, 55; Mark Roidt, 28; Robert Crotteau, 42; his son, Joey, 20; Allan Laski, 43, and Jessica Willers, 27. Wounded in the shootings were Terry Willers, 48, and Lauren Hesebeck, 49.

Four of the victims were shot in the back, and all but Willers were unarmed.

The jury was faced with deciding whether to accept Vang's defense that he feared for his own life against a group of hunters who confronted him with hostility when they saw him in a tree stand on their property.

Jurors could have acquitted Vang, or convicted him on lesser charges of second-degree intentional homicide if they had determined he actually believed he was in danger but that his actions were unreasonable.

-More to come -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FRIDAY, Sept. 16, 2005, 5:16 p.m. Jury reaches verdict in Vang trial

A jury has reached a verdict in the trial of Chai Soua Vang, a Minnesota man accused of killing six hunters and wounding two others during a confrontation in Wisconsin's north woods last November. The verdict is to be read in a Sawyer County courthouse soon.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FRIDAY, Sept. 16, 2005, 1:39 p.m. Attorneys give closing arguments in Vang trial

An immigrant truck driver cannot reasonably claim he was defending himself when he opened fire on a group of hunters, killing six, the prosecutor told jurors today. But the defense said the confrontation was all about racial prejudice.

Chai Soua Vang ambushed some of the victims and chased down one of them, Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager said in her closing argument during the sixth day of Vang's trial.

In his closing, Vang's attorney, Steven Kohn, told jurors the prosecution cannot prove who fired the first shot. Vang had testified he started firing only after one of the hunters shot at him first.

"In the courtroom, the tie goes to the defendant," Kohn said.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; News/Current Events; US: Wisconsin
KEYWORDS: banglist; vang; verdict
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1 posted on 09/16/2005 3:42:58 PM PDT by Jean S
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To: JeanS

That didn't take long.


2 posted on 09/16/2005 3:44:13 PM PDT by Brilliant
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To: JeanS

I'm glad this case is being resolved before the 05-06 deer season. We hunters don't need any more bad press.


3 posted on 09/16/2005 3:45:05 PM PDT by opticks
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To: JeanS


i recall some freepers trying to "explain" this one away with the ol race excuse when it happened.


4 posted on 09/16/2005 3:45:45 PM PDT by wardaddy (I promise to listen to Peter Gabriel songs 24/7 till I'm rehabilitated)
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To: JeanS

This is a sad case. If they jury had found him not guilty, the Anglo population would revolt. Now, we wait to see the reaction of the Hmong community. I know quite a few and they have been curiously quiet about this case.


5 posted on 09/16/2005 3:47:18 PM PDT by Lucretia Borgia
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To: wardaddy

It probably took 3 minutes to decide the verdict and then hang around for lunch. Prime example of why the death penalty is an excellent idea.


6 posted on 09/16/2005 3:48:25 PM PDT by bfree (PC is BS)
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To: JeanS; MotleyGirl70

Good news!


7 posted on 09/16/2005 3:48:27 PM PDT by pissant
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To: Brilliant

"That didn't take long."


As it should be.


8 posted on 09/16/2005 3:49:16 PM PDT by cripplecreek (Never a minigun handy when you need one.)
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To: opticks

Bad press for hunters is undeserved in any event. The bad press should all be for Vang, who deserves the verdicts he got.


9 posted on 09/16/2005 3:49:37 PM PDT by MizSterious (Now, if only we could convince them all to put on their bomb-vests and meet in Mecca...)
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To: JeanS

"cannot prove who fired the first shot...Chai Soua Vang ambushed some of the victims and chased down one ...feared for his own life against a group of hunters...Four of the victims were shot in the back, and all but Willers were unarmed"


10 posted on 09/16/2005 3:49:39 PM PDT by AMERIKA
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To: Lucretia Borgia
I know quite a few [Hmong] and they have been curiously quiet about this case.

They're probably embarrassed that someone identified with them turned out to be a mass-murdering psycho.

11 posted on 09/16/2005 3:50:56 PM PDT by Petronski (Cyborg is the greatest blessing I have ever known.)
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To: pissant

Lautenschlager arranged for a change of venue, she decided on a Madison jury. I think this decision was a miracle.


12 posted on 09/16/2005 3:50:58 PM PDT by Jean S
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To: Lucretia Borgia

I really could not care any less about a groups reaction. If they riot, shoot them. If they don't like it, they are free to leave the area, the county and the country. What don't you understand about a mass murder?


13 posted on 09/16/2005 3:51:05 PM PDT by bfree (PC is BS)
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To: opticks

We all will enter the '05 deer gun season with heavy hearts. God Bless the survivors, the families and friends.


14 posted on 09/16/2005 3:51:07 PM PDT by From The Deer Stand
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To: JeanS

Thanks for posting Jean. Glad to hear he was convicted.


15 posted on 09/16/2005 3:51:15 PM PDT by LibertyRocks
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To: Lucretia Borgia
My take is, they're quiet because they're embarassed.

Poaching is something of a tradition/habit and winked at among the Hmong, but this guy went WAY over the line. He has brought shame upon his community (something Anglos by and large seem to have forgotten.)

Don't think we'll see much of a public reaction. A few liberals may try to make some hay about racial prejudice, but I don't think it will resonate.

16 posted on 09/16/2005 3:51:19 PM PDT by AnAmericanMother (. . . Ministrix of ye Chace (recess appointment), TTGC Ladies' Auxiliary . . .)
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To: JeanS

Good. Lock him up, throw away the key.


17 posted on 09/16/2005 3:51:35 PM PDT by Bird Jenkins
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To: JeanS

What a horrible mass murderer! And, shooting people in the back!! This is a horror story, all the way to the POS lawyer playing the race card. Despicable.


18 posted on 09/16/2005 3:51:40 PM PDT by La Enchiladita ( Things just ain't the same, ev'ry time the hunter gets captured by the game.)
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To: wardaddy

There were also a lot of freepers who thought that a mostly-women Madison jury was going to let the guy off. The fact that they came back with verdict in just four hours is telling.


19 posted on 09/16/2005 3:52:00 PM PDT by Heyworth
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To: Brad's Gramma

Verdict is in!


20 posted on 09/16/2005 3:52:12 PM PDT by LibertyRocks
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