Charges dismissed in St. Paul shooting case

Last update: March 6, 2009 - 10:56 PM

Assault charges were dismissed Friday against Lee Vang, a 31-year-old St. Paul man who was accused of participating in the shooting of a pregnant woman, her fetus and her boyfriend last May on the city's East Side.

The Ramsey County attorney's office dismissed the charges due to "lack of proof beyond a reasonable doubt," a spokeswoman said.

Authorities hadn't heard Vang's name and didn't consider him a suspect in the assault until Evalyn Bheaanu pleaded guilty in August in Ramsey County District Court to three counts of aiding and abetting second-degree assault. Bheaanu is serving concurrent 36-, 46- and 61-month sentences.

Bheaanu said in court that she had been outside Andrea Benjamin's apartment door just after midnight May 18. But, she said, she hadn't fired through the metal door. Vang did that, she said, because he was mad that Bheaanu had been beaten up and robbed earlier that night. Vang was charged in November with three counts of second-degree assault.

Benjamin was shot in the stomach and later gave birth to a pre-term baby boy. The bullet went through the baby's buttocks and came out his leg. Everyone survived their injuries.

PAT PHEIFER

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