Crime & Safety

St. Paul Man Sentenced for Stealing Car in Woodbury

The vehicle was found unattended a week later in Maplewood.

A St. Paul man with two previous convictions for car theft has been sentenced for stealing a car from a Woodbury shopping center parking lot in March.

Chou Chee Yang, 23, was charged in June with stealing a Honda Accord from the parking lot of Woodbury Lakes Shopping Center on March 7.

The vehicle was found unattended a week later in Maplewood. Authorities lifted a fingerprint from the car’s gear-shift lever and had it processed at the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. They were able to identify the culprit as Yang.

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Yang admitted to police in May that he stole the Honda because he needed a car. His criminal record includes convictions for car theft in 2010 and 2012 and a conviction last April for possession of burglary or theft tools.

Yang was sentenced Nov. 21 to 20 months in prison, to be served consecutively with a sentence he’s already serving for a September conviction for third-degree burglary. He was also ordered to repay $190 to the car’s owner out of money earned from his prison wages.

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Officials expect Yang to be released from Minnesota Correctional Facility-Faribault next June.


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