March Ruling Expected On Whether Man Convicted in Hougom Murder Can Withdraw Plea

He got 35 years in prison for a shooting death in which he didn’t see the victim, and didn’t pull the trigger.

But investigators say Pao Choua Vue did supply the gun used to kill Sara Hougom in La Crosse two years ago.  And he drove his nephew, Kong Vue, to the building where Hougom lived.  Vue wants to withdraw his guilty plea because he sat in a car while the murder was committed, unaware of what Kong Vue was doing.  Pao testified at an appeal hearing on Monday:

(Click for Audio)

A La Crosse judge will rule on Pao Vue’s motion by late March.  As they have many times before, Sara Hougom’s relatives and friends gathered in court for Monday’s hearing.  Neither suspect ever went to trial, but both entered guilty pleas in 2012.