St. Paul Man Sentenced For Fatal Shooting At Hmong Festival

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- A judge has sentenced a 29-year-old man to more than 30 years in prison for the shooting death of a 19-year-old man at St. Paul's Hmong Freedom Festival last year.

Nougai Xiong, of St. Paul, pleaded guilty earlier to aiding and abetting murder in the July 2018 death of Jacky Vue, of St. Paul. The Pioneer Press reports that defense attorney Adrianne McMahon said after Friday's sentencing hearing that she will appeal. McMahon argued at trial that Xiong was not involved.

Xiong's cousin, Yang Xiong, of La Crosse, Wisconsin, was sentenced last month to seven years in prison for aiding an offender after the fact.

Court documents show that a person involved in the fight told police it occurred because the two cousins were members of a rival gang.