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Vigil set for St. Paul family who suffered 4 deaths in house fire
According to a GoFundMe, their mother is in critical condition.
SAINT PAUL, Minn. — St. Paul neighbors will come together Saturday to host a vigil for the Vang family, after they lost four children following a house fire.
The community vigil will occur Saturday, Jan. 13 from 1-3 p.m. at the American Indian Magnet School in St. Paul. If you wish to donate to the family bring items to the vigil. Suggested donations include kitchen items, toys and clothes for the surviving children (sizes 3T and 4T for girls and 6T and 7T for boys).
A 1-year-old boy, Muaj Vang, died on the night of Jan. 6. He was preceded by his 4-year-old brother and twin 5-year-old sisters, police said.
At a news conference Jan. 6, Pa Cheng Vang, the children’s father, said he was grateful for the community’s support since the fire broke out early on Jan. 3. He was at work at the time.
The other three children killed by the fire were identified as 5-year-old twin girls Sivntxhi Vang and Ntshiab Si Vang, and a 4-year-old boy, Muaj Tshav Ntaj Vang. Sivntxhi died on Jan. 3. Officials and the family announced the three other deaths the following weekend.
The children’s 28-year-old mother remains hospitalized in critical condition, Vang said. She is at high risk of not surviving, according to a post on a GoFundMe created by the family. Two other children also remain hospitalized, but their conditions have improved.
A GoFundMe established for the Vangs has far exceeded the goal of $350,000 as of Tuesday morning, with more than $465,000 donated for funeral expenses. If you wish to donate, click here. The family also has a fundraiser on PayPal under the account name pacheng.lvang2017@gmail.com.
“So I highly encourage every single family, at least a quarter or a semester, to start practice fire drills often, especially in the middle of the night,” Vang said on Saturday. “Yeah, at least teach them, teach your kids even test a just a drill practice at home, learn how to call 911.”
St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter joined the family at the news conference, saying he knew the couple and their children because Vang’s wife, Ker Lor, had previously interned in his office.
“You’ve endured all of our worst nightmares,” the mayor said.
When the fire broke out on Wednesday, Jan. 3, fire crews were sent to the home on the 1200 block of Arkwright St. N just after 1:31 a.m.
Firefighters entered the burning structure and located seven victims on the main level. Deputy Chief Mokosso said the victims were unconscious when they were pulled from the home, and paramedics immediately performed CPR on all of them before they were rushed to the hospital.
The homeowner, Vang, told KARE 11 he was at work when the fire started and confirmed that his wife and six children were inside.
The cause of the fire was accidental, but it remains under investigation, Mokosso said. The home had working smoke detectors.
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Last week, prosecutors charged Mary Kay Bower, 42, of St. Paul, with rustling and livestock theft, which is a felony.
SHAKOPEE, Minn. — In a YouTube video titled “Rustling is still a thing,” Bloomington Police Chief Booker T. Hodges begins by saying “I’m going to talk to you about a crime that city dwellers don’t often have to talk about.”
Hodges is referring to a woman who was recently arrested and charged with stealing a sheep from a farm in Bloomington.
Last week, prosecutors charged Mary Kay Bower, 42, of St. Paul, with rustling and livestock theft, which is a felony.
On Saturday, Oct. 19, around 6:45 p.m., officers were called to Old Shakopee Road East on a report of a man and woman walking a dog and a sheep.
Bower originally told the officers she had purchased the sheep, according to court documents. However, the man with Bower told officers she “had stepped over the fence to a farm, put a leash on the sheep, and then pulled the sheep through the fence. The male said {Bower} pulled so hard that the sheep was choking.”
Officers said they confirmed with the nearby farm’s owner that the sheep was stolen. The farm’s owner said the “sheep is a breeding hair ram worth approximately $500.”
Chief Booker ended his video by saying the ram was in good condition and Bower’s dog and a “bunny rabbit” that she also had in her possession had been returned to her after she was released from the Hennepin County Jail.
John Sawchak faces four felony charges after officials said he shot his neighbor on Grand Avenue South while trimming a tree on their shared property line.
MINNEAPOLIS — Charges have been filed against a south Minneapolis man accused of shooting his neighbor after a long-simmering rift.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office filed charges of attempted murder, first-degree assault, stalking and harassment against 54-year-old John Herbert Sawchak after alleged racial comments escalated to threats, then culminated in that neighbor being shot while pruning a tree on the line between their two properties.
According to a criminal complaint, Minneapolis police responded to a hospital for a report of a gunshot victim on Wednesday night. The injured man had been transported from his home on Grand Avenue South for an unknown medical condition that caused him to collapse. The man was found in the fetal position by his wife when she got home from work that evening.
Officials later identified the victim as Davis Moturi.
At the hospital, providers found a small puncture wound in the back of Moturi’s neck that led to the discovery of a bullet lodged near his spine. When he arrived at the hospital, he couldn’t recall what led up to him being shot, according to the criminal complaint.
Moturi’s wife told officials that he had been outside earlier in the day pruning a tree near their property line with a chainsaw. She said their neighbor, John Sawchak, had “almost certainly” shot her husband.
In the previous week, Moturi’s wife said Sawchak told her husband “Touch my tree again and I’ll kill you.”
The criminal complaint goes on to detail numerous complaints of harassment the Moturi’s experienced since purchasing their house in September 2023.
- Oct. 11, 2023: Moturi approached Sawchak to discuss the tree on their property line. Sawchak became irate, according to the criminal complaint, yelling at Moturi and using “racially charged language.” Sawchak told Moturi if he “touched” the tree, Sawchak would “take care of” him.
- March 1, 2024: Sawchak approached Moturi while he was working outside his house on a ladder. While verbally harassing him, officials said Sawchak told Moturi that he would put him in the hospital.
- April 5, 2024: Sawchak threw household items at Moturi from his 2nd-floor window.
- May 28, 2024: Sawchak verbally threatened Moturi, calling him “a Black bastard,” and telling him “I’m going to kill you if you call the police again. All you people do is lie and commit crimes.”
- Aug. 7, 2024: Sawchak verbally threatened Moturi from his 2nd story window. Moturi saw Sawchak holding up a large knife in the window while threatening to kill Moturi and his wife.
- Oct. 8, 2024: Sawchak verbally threatened and screamed racial slurs at Moturi from his 2nd-floor window. Sawchak also, once again, brandished a knife from his window while threatening to kill Moturi.
- Oct. 14, 2024: Moturi saw Sawchak outside Moturi’s home with a firearm. Sawchak pointed the firearm at Moturi through the window.
On the evening of Oct. 23, Moturi’s wife went home to pack some things and leave for the night, officials said. Sawchak verbally harassed her and shone a stone light on her as she left her home, the criminal complaint read. The next day, Moturi and his wife were able to access home security footage from their home cameras. The video shows Moturi working outside near the tree at the property line with his back to Sawchak’s home. A faint “crack” or “pop” can be heard, then Moturi collapsed to the ground.
Moturi remains hospitalized with a fractured spine, two broken ribs, and a concussion. He spoke with KARE 11 from his hospital bed and said he feels the police failed to protect his family by not arresting Sawchak during one of the various other incidents.
“If you’re saying you’re scared, what does that do to me?” Moturi said. “You have this body armor, you have professional training… when I call for assistance, when I called for having a knife pointed at me, I had to wait hours and hours and hours.”
As of Sunday morning, Sawchak is not in police custody. According to the criminal complaint, Sawchak has at least three active warrants associated with prior threats or acts of violence against Moturi and other neighbors. Sawchak has “actively evaded” police during their prior attempts to contact or arrest him.
A letter from ranking members of the Minneapolis City Council to Mayor Jacob Frey reflected anger and blame directed at the Minneapolis police department for allegedly failing to act on Moturi’s numerous complaints against Sawchak before the shooting, and failing to arrest him immediately after the shooting.
“MPD still has not arrested the suspect despite charges from the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office for Attempted Murder, 1st Degree Assault, Stalking, and Harassment and a request from the HCAO for a warrant with $1 million bail. MPD told the HCAO they do not intend to execute the warrant ‘for reasons of officer safety,’” said the letter from the Minneapolis City Council.
Watch Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara’s response below:
The Minnesota State Patrol says the victim’s vehicle was stopped in the middle lane of the interstate when another motorist rear-ended her.
DAYTON, Minn. — A woman who stopped her vehicle on a busy interstate after hitting a deer Sunday was killed when another motorist allegedly struck her in the roadway.
The Minnesota State Patrol website says the crash happened on I-94 near Brockton Lane in Dayton just before 6 a.m. Sunday. Troopers said 60-year-old Julie Kay Terwey of South Haven struck a deer with her Ford Escape and then stopped in the middle lane.
The crash report said it was at that point, that a Mazda CX-5 driven by a 32-year-old man from Becker rear-ended the Ford, killing Terwey. The driver of the Mazda was taken to North Memorial Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Investigators say both motorists were wearing seat belts, and airbags deployed on both vehicles. The patrol says neither was under the influence of alcohol.
