A Maplewood man dropped what appeared to be a loaded ghost gun as he ran from Saint Paul police who had watched him and two other men pull copper wire from a streetlight, according to criminal complaints. All three men are charged.
Cha Vang, 57, faces two felony counts of possessing a firearm and ammunition while barred because of a past conviction for a crime of violence, along with felony counts of aiding and abetting damage to or theft of energy or telecommunications equipment, aiding and abetting first-degree damage to property and possessing burglary or theft tools. His bail was set at $20,000.
Her Pao Moua, 51, and Tou Yang, 50, both of Saint Paul, each face three felony counts: aiding and abetting damage to or theft of energy or telecommunications equipment, aiding and abetting first-degree damage to property and possessing burglary or theft tools. Bail for each was set at $10,000. All three complaints were filed Oct. 20 in Ramsey County District Court.
According to the complaints, Saint Paul police found on the morning of Oct. 18 that numerous streetlight poles near Hyacinth Avenue and Arcade Street had been tampered with and their wires exposed, and it appeared thieves had prepared them to have the copper wire stripped out. Police put the area under surveillance.
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At about 11:33 p.m., an officer in an unmarked vehicle saw three men approach the intersection, one carrying a backpack and one wearing a mask. The officer watched as one of them crouched and reached inside a streetlight’s access panel, and the three walked away whenever cars passed and came back after they had gone. A drone recorded them as they started pulling wire from the streetlight.
When squads arrived, the three began walking away, and Vang ran. As officers chased him, he dropped a loaded 9 mm handgun that appeared to be a Glock-style ghost gun without a proper serial number, along with a pry bar, a screwdriver, a phone, pieces of cut copper wire and a backpack holding a bolt cutter and other burglary tools, the complaints say. All three men were taken into custody.
Officers found a screwdriver, an extra bit, a headlamp, a flashlight and a medical mask on Moua, and recovered an orange-handled tool and a long double-sided pry bar the men had left at the intersection.
Moua told police he did not know the other two men. He said he had come from a homeless encampment off Highway 61, was going to Walgreens for a drink and carried the tools to fix his bike. Police noted that the Walgreens had closed at 10 p.m.
Vang’s complaint says he is barred from having guns or ammunition because of his felony convictions, which include criminal damage to property, receiving stolen property and a second-degree drug offense. The complaints say repairing a damaged streetlight costs more than $1,000.
Each firearm count carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, a $30,000 fine or both, according to the complaint.
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Jurisdictional Context
Ramsey County encompasses Saint Paul and is served by the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office. Felony cases are heard in the Second Judicial District at the Ramsey County Courthouse in downtown Saint Paul; Ramsey County Community Corrections operates the Ramsey County Correctional Facility in Maplewood.
