A jury on Friday found a white former sawmill worker guilty in the shooting and stabbing death of a Hmong immigrant with whom he crossed paths while both were hunting squirrels in the northern Wisconsin woods earlier this year.
The jury found James Nichols, 29, guilty of second-degree intentional homicide in the death of Cha Vang, a case that had rekindled racial tensions in northern Wisconsin, where a Hmong hunter fatally shot six white hunters three years ago.
Nichols, 29, of Peshtigo, had been charged with first-degree intentional homicide, but the judge gave jurors an alternative of the lesser charge that carries a maximum 60-year prison term instead of life. Judge David Miron said a sentencing date would be set this week.
Nichols also was convicted on charges of hiding a corpse and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
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Items compiled from Tribune news services
