Jan 19, 2006 5:11 pm US/Central
Judge Orders Vang To Pay $52K In Restitution
(AP)
A Minnesota truck driver serving life in prison for murdering six deer hunters and trying to kill two others must pay about $52,000 in restitution to the survivors and families of the victims, a judge decided.
More than half of the money was awarded to the family of one of the wounded hunters, and it included the loss of his hunting rifle that was seized for evidence at the trial, according to a ruling this week by Sawyer County Circuit Judge Norman Yackel.
Where Chai Soua Vang will get the money to pay the restitution and how long it will take him to pay it is unclear, Kelly Kennedy, a spokesman for Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager, said Thursday.
"Probably just out of prison income," Kennedy said.
Wisconsin law allows victims of crime to recover monetary losses caused by a defendant's conduct, according to court documents Lautenschlager submitted seeking the restitution.
On the second day of the 2004 deer hunting season, Vang trespassed in a tree stand on private land in southern Sawyer County. An angry confrontation ensued with a group of white hunters from the Rice Lake area, and Vang fatally shot six of them and wounded two others.
A jury convicted Vang, 37, of St. Paul, of six counts of first-degree intentional homicide and two counts of attempted first-degree homicide. Last November, Yackel sentenced him to six consecutive life prison terms with no chance for parole.
During his trial, Vang testified he shot in self-defense after the others hurled profanities and racial slurs and took a shot at him. But two survivors testified no one pointed a gun at Vang.
The following is a breakdown of the restitution Yackel ordered, according to court records:
--$33,690 to Terry Willers, one of the wounded hunters, and his family. The money includes $22,500 in lost wages for Willers, $5,500 in costs for attending court-related events and $1,328 for the loss of Willers' rifle that was taken as evidence. Willers was the only member of his group with a gun during the confrontation and the other wounded hunter testified that he used it to fire one shot at Vang after Vang started shooting.
--$1,320 to David Drew, brother of slain hunter Dennis Drew. The money is for David Drew's lost wages in attending the trial.
--$2,206 to Anthony Drew, son of Dennis Drew, for four days of lost work immediately after his father's death.
--$2,419 to Craig Schue, the fiance of slain hunter Jessica Willers. The money is for lost wages and travel costs related to the aftermath of the crime.
--$2,839 to Lauren Hesebeck, the second wounded hunter.
--$2,700 to the Wisconsin Department of Justice Crime Victim Compensation Fund to reimburse it for paying for lost wages and grief counseling of the family of Robert and Joseph Crotteau, the father and son who were killed.
--$6,775 in surcharges.
Vang has filed a notice of his intent to appeal the convictions and requested the state public defender's office handle his appeal, suggesting he has no money to hire a private attorney for the work.
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