MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A grand jury has indicted two St. Paul men in a 15-year-old murder case.
Authorities allege 32-year-old Earl Vang, of St. Paul, was one of two men who shot and killed 19-year-old Miguel McElroy outside a north Minneapolis convenience store July 9, 1999, after a drug deal went bad.
Vang was not charged at the time, but a jury convicted Tou Yang in McElroy’s death in 1999. Police and prosecutors reopened the case after a judge ordered a new trial for Yang.
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman told reporters Friday that DNA evidence that wasn’t available in 1999 pointed to Vang as a second shooter and led to new first-degree murder charges against both men.
Vang’s attorney, Earl Gray, says his client will plead not guilty. He’s free on bail.
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