Three well-dressed men posed as pamphleteers and robbed a St. Paul man last week, pointing a gun at his sleeping 2-year-old, according to charges filed Friday.
The three are each charged in Ramsey County District Court with one count of kidnapping, two counts of first-degree aggravated robbery and two counts of first-degree burglary: Chozon Y. Chang, 27, of Brooklyn Park; Theng Thao, 33, of St. Paul; and Teng Vang, 32, of Robbinsdale.
According the complaints: The men were walking through a neighborhood on Sept. 25 and looked as if they were handing out pamphlets. They approached a home in the 600 block of Winthrop Street N.
The homeowner opened the door, and Vang allegedly thrust a gun in his face. Another suspect struck the man. The suspects pushed their way in and used a zip tie to tie his hands behind his back, charges said.
The suspects, all armed with handguns, put on blue gloves. They punched the man in the face and said they were looking for "Meng." The man said no one by that name lived there. The suspects allegedly asked for money and drugs, charges said.
Vang stayed with the man while the other two searched the home, the charges allege. Vang walked the man into a room where his 2-year-old daughter was sleeping, pointed a gun at her and allegedly threatened to shoot the child if the man didn't tell them where the money was, charges said.
One of the suspects told the man to call "Meng," but after he showed them he didn't have anyone by that name in his cellphone, they destroyed his phone and tied up his hands with the cord of a cellphone charger.
They placed a black plastic bag around the man's eyes and moved him into the basement, the complaint said. The man was able to bite through the wire and free himself after the suspects fled, charges said.
The man told police the suspects took two handguns, a laptop, an iPad and more than $2,000. They also allegedly drank two Michelob Golden Light beers.
A neighbor told police she saw three men approaching houses, the complaint said. The witness said they left and returned three times, once carrying a box to a truck.
The homeowner who was attacked was watching YouTube videos on Sept. 28 when he saw the men who robbed him in rap videos, the complaint said.
Vang and Thao are in custody. Chang was not in custody as of Friday evening.
Chao Xiong • 612-270-4708
Twitter: @ChaoStrib
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