A Brooklyn Park man was sentenced on Wednesday to about eight years in prison for holding the mother of his children captive in a van and driving around the metro area for six to seven hours.

Chia Vang, 27, threatened to kill the woman and their youngest child in the May incident, according to court documents. He pleaded guilty in July in Ramsey County District Court to kidnapping and terroristic threats.

Vang's attorney, David Paulzine, argued for a lighter sentence, noting that the woman was not physically harmed and that Vang allowed her to call her family during the incident.

But prosecutor Margaret Samec sought a sentence of about 10 years because Vang tracked his ex-girlfriend down at a grocery store and forced himself into her van.

"He hunted her down," Samec said. "She cried for most of the event."

According to charges: The woman called 911 at the grocery store when Vang showed up. Police arrived, sending Vang and the youngest child away on foot, but he waited and later kidnapped the woman.

She pressed her face against a window and mouthed "Help me!" to another driver, who called 911, charges said.

Samec noted that Vang threw the woman's cellphone out of the car and was under the influence of meth.

Judge Gary Bastian denied Paulzine's sentencing request of about 3 1/2 to 5 years. Vang was credited for 127 days served in jail. He will have to register as a predatory offender.

Vang was charged in September with violation of an order for protection and violation of a domestic abuse no-contact order for calling the woman in late July after he pleaded guilty in the case.

Before the kidnapping, the woman had stayed in domestic-abuse shelters with her children after Vang allegedly head-butted and choked her.

CHAO XIONG