Chai Vang

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Chai Soua Vang
Chai Soua Vang

Chai Soua Vang (born September 24, 1968) is a naturalized U.S. citizen and a Hmong immigrant from Laos. While on a hunting trip in northern Wisconsin, Vang shot eight people, who were also hunting in the area, on November 21, 2004. Six were killed and two were left wounded.

According to court proceedings prior to his conviction, Vang acknowledged shooting the people, including one woman, but challenged the chain of events that caused a dispute over a deer stand to become violent and how it escalated into multiple deaths. Vang, who lived in Saint Paul, Minnesota at the time of the shootings, is currently being held at Iowa State Penitentiary.

Contents

[edit] Background

[edit] History

Chai Vang is the father of six children, a family shaman,[1] and a hunting enthusiast. Vang and his brothers came to the United States from Laos in 1980, and initially settled in California. Chai Vang lived in Sacramento and eventually enlisted in the California National Guard.

Vang moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota sometime around 2000. A few years later, he and his family moved a few miles to the neighboring city of St. Paul. Both the Minneapolis and St. Paul police departments have record of several calls about domestic violence at the Vang residences during this time.

[edit] Shootings

On the weekend of the shootings, Vang went out deer hunting with two friends and their two sons in northwest Wisconsin, a region where deer hunting is particularly popular, east of Birchwood, Wisconsin around the town of Meteor. Meteor has a large area with a low population. In this region, there is a mix of public and private land. It is believed that Vang and his friends began their day on public land, but he later went onto a private 400 acre (1.6 km²) tract of land.

On Sunday, November 21, a hunting party of about 15 people were in a cabin on this private land. One person, Terry Willers, left the cabin and saw Vang sitting in a deer stand. He used a handheld radio to ask the people still in the cabin whether or not anyone should be in the stand. Upon receiving a response in the negative on that question, he began to approach Vang and called to leave the private land. After asking for directions, Vang proceeded to walk away towards a trail through a forested area of the property. At that point five of the hunters from the cabin who had heard Terry Willers radio message arrived on ATVs. Reportedly, Robert Crotteau implied that Vang should be reported to the Department of Natural Resources for trespassing and suggested making note of his hunting license number. Terry Willers wrote the number in the dust on one of the ATVs. The events after the confrontation are under dispute. A violent altercation broke out and four of the eight victims were shot in the back, and three of these four were hit by multiple rounds. It is believed that he fired about 20 rounds from a Saiga rifle chambered in 7.62x39. One of the wounded hunters died the next day, bringing the toll to six dead and two wounded.

Vang was apprehended about five hours after the shootings and was placed in custody of the Sawyer County Jail on November 24, 2004. His bail was set at $2.5 million.

[edit] Victims

The victims were part of a group of about 15 people who made their annual opening-weekend trip to the 400 acre (1.6 km²) property co-owned by Robert Crotteau and Terry Willers. Among the victims were father and son, Robert and Joey Crotteau.

Those who were killed:

  • Robert Crotteau, 42, owned a concrete business in Rice Lake. Married with 3 children. Round in the back.
  • Joey Crotteau, 20, Robert's son. Four rounds in the back.
  • Allan Laski, 43, manager of a Rice Lake area lumber yard. Married with 3 children. Three rounds in the back.
  • Mark Roidt, 28, a friend of the Drew family. Headshot.
  • Jessica Willers, 27, a nurse from Rice Lake who had moved to Green Bay. She was engaged. Two rounds in the back.
  • Denny Drew, 55, a car salesman in Rice Lake. One round to the stomach.

Those who were wounded:

  • Lauren Hesebeck, 48, a manager at a car dealership in Rice Lake. Drew was his brother-in-law. Shot once through the shoulder, exiting from the back.
  • Terry Willers, 47, father of Jessica Willers. Worked in Crotteaus' concrete business. Shot once in the neck.

[edit] Investigation

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There have been conflicting reports about what may have led to the shootings. Originally Vang denied shooting the hunters, claiming that the first hunter he saw with a gun took his (Vang's) gun and shot the others, then forced him to walk to each of the bodies. According to subsequent oral statements by Vang, one of the local hunters, Terry Willers, took the first shot at him from about 100 feet (30 m) away, and therefore the shootings were in self-defense. No shell casing was ever recovered from Willer's gun even though during the trial Hesebeck admitted to firing a single shot later during the incident when Vang, noticing that Hesebeck was still alive, fired at him again. Hesebeck testified no shot was fired before Vang started shooting. Additional forensic analysis of Willer's gun was not performed by the local law enforcement. The statements of both Vang and Hesebeck record that Vang removed the scope from his rifle before firing his first shot. Vang claims race may have been a factor, alleging that during the verbal dispute, some of the local hunters yelled out racial slurs at him such as "chink" and "gook". On the stand Hesebeck admitted Robert Crotteau had called Vang a 'Hmong a--hole.' Hesebeck also admitted that he told law enforcement that Robert Crotteau had problems with trespassers in the past, specifically citing Hmong hunters, who apparently are known to travel to Wisconsin from Minnesota to hunt. The term "Mud Duck" is a common reference to Minnesota residents used often in Western Wisconsin, similar to "Cheesehead" being used to describe Wisconsin residents. The term was used to describe Chai Vang noting that he was from Minnesota. The term has no racial connotation, although the defense made this claim. This word was used when Willers radioed back to the cabin. It is unknown how during the altercation, they were able to conclude that Vang was from Minnesota.

Vang has a history of domestic violence. In addition, the criminal complaint states Vang shot four of the victims in the back and Vang himself admits he shot one victim in the back, which, the prosecutor's office claims does not help the case for self defense. In addition, many of the victims were shot multiple times.

[edit] Trial

The trial of Chai Soua Vang began Saturday, September 10, 2005 in Sawyer County Courthouse. 14 jurors (10 women and four men) were selected from Dane County, Wisconsin, and bussed about 280 miles (450 km) northwest to Sawyer County, where they were sequestered.

Vang told the jury he feared for his life and began firing only after another hunter's shot nearly hit him. He detailed for jurors how the other hunters approached him, and how he responded by shooting at each one. He says he shot two of the victims in the back because they were "disrespectful". He recounted with clarity how he killed each victim. While saying on the stand, "(he wished) it wasn't happening", Chai Soua Vang contended that three of the hunters deserved to die:

"Did Mr. Crotteau deserve to die?" Wisconsin Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager asked.

"Yes," Chai Soua Vang replied.

Vang further testified that Joseph Crotteau deserved to die "because he accused me of giving him the finger and tried to cut in front of me to stop me from leaving." And Laski deserved to die because he had a gun, he said.[2] Vang re-enacted his deeds while on the stand, using his hands and arms to imitate the motions of firing a rifle. Vang's lawyers commented that some of his seemingly abnormal remarks were due possibly to the language barrier.

[edit] Conviction

On September 16, 2005 Chai Soua Vang was found guilty of all six charges of first degree murder and two charges of attempted murder by a jury of eight women and four men. On November 8, 2005, he was sentenced to six consecutive life terms plus seventy years (40 for two counts of attempted murder plus five additional years for each count of murder in the first degree). At the time, Wisconsin was one of 12 states in the U.S. that did not have the death penalty. Wisconsin Court Record

[edit] Reaction

The shooting and subsequent trial incident attracted nationwide attention. It has been reported that Hmong people misunderstand contemporary American law regarding hunting. In their homeland, the Hmong had a hunting culture, and most lands were government-owned and therefore open to hunting. Regional officials in Wisconsin and Minnesota have focused on educating Hmong hunters on private property rights, to diminish the risk of future conflicts. [1]

[edit] Vang's military experience

  • Six years in the California National Guard, 1989-1995
  • Sharpshooter qualification badge (mid-level, above "Marksman")
  • Good Conduct medal

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Reprint of New York Times article of December 1, 2004 from www.thepowerhour.com, accessed Jun 4, 2006
  2. ^ Pioneer Press, Sept 16, 2005

3. Criminal Complaint http://www2.jsonline.com/news/state/nov04/vang-complaint112904.pdf

[edit] External links

[edit] Sources

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