Prejudice called a motive in killing of Hmong hunter

A white hunter accused of killing a Hmong immigrant during a dispute in the woods was motivated in part by prejudice and did not act in self-defense as he claimed, a prosecutor told jurors Tuesday.

In opening statements, the prosecutor said James Nichols initially lied about the killing in January and gave false information to medical workers when he sought treatment at a hospital.

“The record will show Mr. Nichols had a rather calm demeanor for someone who had been shot by an unknown assailant in the woods,” Assistant Atty. Gen. Donald Latorraca said.

Defense attorney Kent Hoffmann did not dispute that Nichols killed Cha Vang, 30, in the Peshtigo Harbor State Wildlife Area but said Nichols was firing back after being shot twice.

“He wasn’t going to wait around to die. He protected himself by killing the shooter,” Hoffmann said.

Latorraca told jurors that just because someone said he acted in self-defense did not mean what he did was reasonable under the circumstances. An autopsy concluded that Vang was hit by a shotgun blast and stabbed six times.

Sheriff’s deputies arrested Nichols after he went to a hospital Jan. 5 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, 29, of Peshtigo, told investigators there was a confrontation after he told Vang that he was interfering with his hunt. Nichols said he got shot in the hand, then shot and stabbed Vang, according to the criminal complaint.

Marathon County sheriff’s deputy Chris Lesperance testified that Nichols helped search for Vang on the night of Jan. 5 and took authorities close to where the body was.

“He said: ‘I know he was in there. I dragged him to a low spot, put a log on him, covered him in leaves,’ ” Lesperance said. The search was called off and a dog discovered the body the next day.

Nichols’ attorney said his client had served time for burglary and at first lied about his actions in the woods because he was afraid of going back to prison.

He is charged with first-degree intentional homicide, hiding a corpse and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Nichols could face life in prison.

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

Vang’s widow, Pang Vue, testified that the family came to the U.S. as political refugees in August 2004.

Speaking through an interpreter, she said her husband, a father of five, was “a very thoughtful person and very patient.” He was taking English classes and had taken a hunter safety course so he could hunt deer and squirrels, she said.