Hate crime against Hmong man in Wisconsin

From Washington Post

MARINETTE, Wis. -- Two months before a Hmong immigrant was killed while hunting, the white man on trial for the crime told his boss he "hated" Hmong and wished to do one in, the boss testified Wednesday.

James Nichols, 29, is accused of shooting and stabbing Cha Vang, 30, after the two got into a dispute while hunting separately for squirrels Jan. 5 in the Peshtigo Wildlife Area.

Vang's death rekindled racial tensions in northern Wisconsin, where a Hmong deer hunter fatally shot six white hunters three years ago.

John Spaulding, owner of JS Forest Products, said Nichols worked at the sawmill during the fall of 2006. Nichols, who no longer works there, talked about seeing a Hmong man _ not Vang _ during a weekend trip to far northern Wisconsin.

Nichols said "he wished he would have killed him. I ask him why and he said he hated those little (expletive),'" Spaulding testified.

Assistant Attorney General Roy Korte asked Spaulding about Nichols' demeanor.

"He had this look in his eyes. Just mean. Hatred," Spaulding said.

Several hundred thousand Hmong fled Laos for the United States after the communists seized control in 1975, many settling in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Vang, a father of five, had limited English, his teacher testified earlier Wednesday.

Nichols has claimed he argued with Vang in the woods, but Vang's family has said he could not have provoked an attack because he did not speak enough English.

"I don't think he would be able to communicate," said Hun Chan Ho, who taught Vang English at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College. "He was real quiet. But, when you ask him a question, before he'd speak, he smiled."

Sheriff's deputies arrested Nichols after he went to a hospital with a .22-caliber bullet lodged in his right hand and an injury to his other hand _ about the same time members of Vang's hunting party reported him missing.

Nichols is charged with first-degree intentional homicide, hiding a corpse and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He could face life in prison. He was released from prison in 2002 after serving time for burglary.

Nichols told investigators there was a verbal confrontation after he told Vang that he was interfering with his hunt. Nichols said he got shot in the hand and then shot and stabbed Vang, according to the criminal complaint.

An autopsy concluded Vang was hit by a shotgun blast and was stabbed six times.

Reid Rathjen, a landowner south of Peshtigo, where Nichols lives, testified that he was repairing some fencing in October 2006 when Nichols stopped and asked whether he had a problem with Hmong on his property. Rathjen said he had not had any problems, and Nichols said he had been bowhunting in the area and someone stole his tree stand.

"He was adamant a Hmong stole his tree stand," Rathjen testified. "I would say he was upset. He was not irate."

Rathjen said he handed Nichols his cell phone and told him to call authorities to report the theft. Nichols declined, saying "he had a bad experience with the sheriff's department," Rathjen testified.

Under cross examination, Rathjen characterized his 10-minute conversation with Nichols as "pleasant and cordial" and said Nichols never made any threats toward Hmong.