By Pablo Lopez
The Fresno Bee
FRESNO, Calif. — A Fresno man testified Thursday that he shot two correctional officers inside the main Fresno County Jail lobby in September 2016 after a lieutenant fired at him first.
Thong Vang also said he was high on methamphetamine and paranoid when he did it.
“When someone shoots at me, I am going to defend myself,” Vang, 38, told a Fresno Superior Court jury.
But on cross-examination, Vang admitted that officer Juanita Davila, who was shot in the neck, was unarmed. He also conceded that officer Toamalama Scanlan, who was shot in the head and arm, only held a stun gun. Vang said he shot the 290-pound Scanlan after he rushed at him “like a linebacker.”
Prosecutor William Lacy said Scanlan was shot while trying to rescue Davila. Both officers survived the shooting, but Davila has testified that she she needs more surgery on her jaw; Scanlan can neither walk, talk or feed himself, his wife, Tepatasi Scanlan, testified Thursday.
Vang is charged with the attempted murder of Scanlan and Davila on Sept. 3, 2016. Vang also faces two counts of assault with a semi-automatic firearm and possession of a firearm by a felon because of a prior rape conviction. If convicted, he faces at minimum 50 years to life in prison.
The trial is expected to wrap up next week in Judge Timothy Kams’ courtroom.
On the witness stand, Vang gave a detailed account about his life as an immigrant growing up in poverty in Fresno to the events that led to the shooting. His lawyer, Richard Esquivel, has told the jury that Vang was high on methamphetamine and paranoid and didn’t intend to shoot the two officers.
Vang admitted his drug use, but after Lacy peppered him with questions, he testified he shot both officers intentionally. Vang then blamed Lt. Michael Porter for starting the gunfight in the lobby, which was filled with visitors.
Lacy will continue his cross-examination of Vang on Friday.
Lacy contends that Vang shot the two officers before Porter opened fire. None of Porter’s bullets hit Vang, but the bullets caused Vang to retreat into a jail office until reinforcements arrived. Vang later surrendered.
Vang gave a different account of the shooting, but first told the jury that he and his family once lived in a Thailand refugee camp before settling in Montana when he was a toddler. His family, which included nine children, moved to Merced when he was in the second grade and arrived in Fresno when he was in the fifth grade.
Vang testified that he was a high-school dropout and raised by a single mother. His family lived in poverty, and he had to deal with black and Asian gangs in his neighborhood.
But he also admitted to being in a gang, having a juvenile record for a shooting, and spending time in prison for rape.
After spending nearly 18 years in prison, Vang testified he returned to Fresno in 2014 and worked two jobs and had his own apartment. He was doing well financially, he said, but also was abusing drugs, a habit he said he picked up in prison.
He testified that he hadn’t been sleeping much because he was working a lot. On the day of shooting, he recalled getting off work after midnight and smoking methamphetamine with his girlfriend. Because he suspected her of stealing his money, he said he confronted her and they argued.
With the drugs kicking in, he said he started to feel paranoid when his girlfriend asked him to drop her off at a friend’s home. He told the jury that he feared she was setting him up to get assaulted.
Against his better judgment, he testified that he drove his girlfriend to her friend’s home. But after dropping her off, he said he repeatedly looked around to see if anyone was following him.
Vang testified he had a gun on him for protection.
He said he he drove to the Fresno Police Department to get help, but headquarters was closed because it was Saturday. He said he then walked to the main jail.
He recalled seeing people outside the jail. Because he thought they were talking about him, he testified that he told them: “Whatever it is, leave me alone.” He also testified he carried three cell phones, but left them outside before entering the jail lobby.
Inside the lobby, Vang said he starting talking to himself. He recalled thinking, “I have a gun on me, so I might get three years in prison.” But he also thought people were after him. “I don’t know what’s really going on,” he testified. “But I thought it was safer just to turn myself in.”
Vang testified the told the officer at the front desk: “I’m here to get arrested.” But the officer yelled at him, he said. Vang said he walked off thinking, “I’m just trying to go to jail, man.”
Vang said he paced the lobby floor, frequently looking out the front window to see if anyone was following him. He said he didn’t know the officer at the front desk had called for backup.
He testified that he recalled Davila grabbing his arm in a move to escort him out. He testified he then saw an officer draw a gun.
“I felt threatened so I shot out a window as a warning shot,” he testified.
But then the officer, later identified as Porter, fired at him, Vang said. “He had a gun pointed at me and I made eye contact,” Vang said. “That’s when I reacted because I’m thinking he was trying to kill me.”
Vang said his “survival instincts” kicked in. He said he shot Davila and Scanlan and tried to escape, but was trapped. Once reinforcements arrived, he said he followed the officers’ commands and surrendered.
Vang said he was dealing with paranoia during his entire time in the lobby.
After his arrest, he testified that he recalled thinking: “Man, what just happened? Are these people trying to kill me?”
He told the jury that that he later talked to detectives, telling them: “I’m innocent. I’m innocent.”
©2018 The Fresno Bee (Fresno, Calif.)