Posted on 01/08/2007 8:56:22 AM PST by sbMKE
Body of missing hunter was hidden Possible link to man with gunshot wound investigated By MEG JONES mjones@journalsentinel.com Posted: Jan. 7, 2007
Whoever killed a Hmong hunter in a Marinette County public hunting area took pains to conceal the body, the sheriff said Sunday.
Searchers with a tracking dog could not find Cha Vang, 30, Friday night after his hunting companions reported him missing. Shortly after the search resumed Saturday morning, Vang's body was found concealed in the Peshtigo Harbor Wildlife Area, though Marinette County Sheriff James Kanikula declined to say how the body was hidden.
And minutes after authorities learned that Vang had disappeared, local hospital officials reported that a man had arrived in the emergency room with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the hand. Hospitals are required to notify law enforcement of any firearms-related injuries.
It didn't take detectives long to make what they say is a connection between the two shootings. James A. Nichols, 28, of Peshtigo was held on a probation-parole violation after his hand was treated. According to online state court records, Nichols was convicted in Marinette County of several felony burglary charges in 1996.
"We got a missing hunter. We got a guy in the hospital with a gunshot wound to his hand. He showed up a half-hour after we got this call that we've got a missing hunter," said Kanikula, who was sworn in last week.
"The long and short of it is our investigators are sharp. They went to talk to this guy. His story changed three or four times. It's just a matter of good investigation."
Why Vang was killed and whether his death was linked in any way to the deaths in 2004 of six hunters in Sawyer County is unknown. A Hmong hunter from Minnesota, Chai Soua Vang, was convicted of killing the hunters, who were white, during a dispute over hunting on private property.
The killings inflamed racial tensions in Wisconsin among Hmong and white hunters. Chai Vang, 38, a St. Paul, Minn., truck driver who often hunted in northwestern Wisconsin, is now serving multiple life terms. He said he fired in self-defense after being confronted by hunters who owned the Sawyer County property and shouted racial epithets.
When asked if there was any connection between the Sawyer County slayings and the death in Marinette County, Kanikula said "at this time, no. But that's not gospel. I don't have those answers yet.
"What the circumstances are or what caused this incident, we're still sorting through everything."
Vang was hunting for small game at the Peshtigo wildlife area with three companions when he vanished. Kanikula, who previously served as sheriff in the northeastern Wisconsin county, declined to say how many times Vang was shot but said an autopsy was scheduled for today in Green Bay.
Vang's wife said Sunday that he couldn't speak English and could not have provoked such an attack. Pang Vue, 25, said she and her husband and their five children, ages 3 to 11, immigrated to America two years ago and settled in Green Bay. Vang wanted to provide a better life for his family than the one he had growing up in refugee camps in Southeast Asia.
"Our dream was just starting, just now beginning, and now it falls apart again," Vue said through an interpreter as dozens of family members and friends gathered at her home Sunday afternoon.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
I don't think it makes sense to confront tresspassers alone, or unarmed, if possible. The Sheriff's here aren't all that interested in tresspassing incidents, they consider it a largely civil issue. Fortunately it's not something that's been an issue for me, the occasional issue has always been a hunter with permission to be on neighbors property and has gotten lost. But it does make you think.
Hunter accused of threats reaches deal
Charges followed dispute with landowner
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1764263/posts
Associated Press
A hunter accused of threatening a property owner last September reached a deferred prosecution agreement in a case that the defense says was blown out of proportion in the wake of the Chai Soua Vang murder case in northern Wisconsin.
Chuetoua Lor, who allegedly pointed his gun at the other man's legs during the dispute, pleaded no contest Thursday to first-degree reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct.
Under the agreement, the endangerment charge will be dropped if Chuetoua Lor, 37, of Appleton, stays out of trouble for two years. He will serve a year of probation on the disorderly conduct charge and loses his hunting privileges during that time.
His lawyer noted the charges came in the aftermath of the fatal shootings of six white hunters by another Hmong hunter, Chai Soua Vang, in Sawyer County during the November 2004 deer hunt. Chai Soua Vang, 38, of St. Paul, is serving multiple life terms on homicide charges, plus more prison time for wounding two others.
"People understand that this was really blown way out of proportion and was a knee-jerk reaction because of the other case," said Chuetoua Lor's lawyer Jeff Oswald.
The criminal complaint said Chuetoua Lor was hunting for small game in the town of Liberty when a homeowner confronted him after hearing a shot fired near his house.
Chuetoua Lor told the man a neighboring property owner gave him permission to hunt there, but the landowner told Chuetoua Lor he was on his land and should leave, the complaint said.
The property owner went inside but heard another shot and confronted Chuetoua Lor again, according to the complaint. This time, the two argued, Chuetoua Lor pointed his gun at the man's legs and made him state that Chuetoua Lor was not a liar, the complaint said. Once the man did so, Chuetoua Lor allegedly made him walk backward to his house.
A manhunt ended when Chuetoua Lor was located at his home.
Assistant District Attorney Melinda Tempelis noted at Thursday's hearing that Chuetoua Lor has no prior criminal record. She said the victim and the victim's family felt the deferred prosecution agreement was appropriate.
Chuetoua Lor, a longtime Appleton resident, gave a statement, with his wife translating.
"It is a blessing from God to be living in this country and to receive this fair (treatment)," he said.
Former Appleton Mayor Dorothy Johnson has been among Chuetoua Lor's supporters and was with those surrounding him after he was sentenced.
"What happened was right," she said of the sentencing agreement.
Could be second or third wife situation too ~
The answer to your question are "Mangles" and "Caltrops".
Tell me about it.
My family moved to De Pere (suburb) ten years ago and we found it amazing how cold the people are to outsiders. In fact, I met a retired doctor who moved to the area over 20 years ago. He says his wife still feels like an outsider.
TMJ4 news just reported that the Vang and Nichols met randomly in the woods hunting small game.
Nichols will be charged with murder.
You can look on TMJ4 website, I'm sure there's more detailed information on it for you.
Heck, that's fairly typical in some parts of Milwaukee.
Thanks. I'm glad Nichols didn't have the common sense to keep his mouth shut and wait for his lawyer before confessing.
Two years here and no one speaks any English. How do they cope?
Press 1 for Spanish, 2 for English, 3 for Hmong.
Usually, the kids pick the language up very quickly & act as interpreters. And, there is an extended Hmong community so they're not as isolated as one would think.
It's been close to 30 years since the boat people began arriving here and the Hmong still are coming; have we run out of room yet?
Maybe you could make a little room in your heart for five kids who don't have a daddy now.
Compassion is a non-survival trait.
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