Crime & Justice

Last of 3 men sentenced in 2011 killings outside Muldoon bar

A judge sentenced Lee Chee Chang on Friday to 11 1/2 years in prison for his involvement in a 2011 shooting outside an East Anchorage bar that left two people injured and two dead, including his older brother, according to the Attorney General's Office.

Police said Chang, then 25, shot Emilio Ramirez, 35, at point-blank range as Ramirez lay in the parking lot outside JJ's Lounge off Muldoon Road. Chang was charged with killing Ramirez. Chang also shot and wounded Ramirez's girlfriend as well as a bystander, according to police.

Deputy District Attorney Clint Campion said the defense argued that a first-degree murder charge wasn't warranted because Chang acted in "a heat of passion" after Ryan Laulu, then 31, killed Chang's older brother, 28-year-old Ka Meng Chang, in the melee outside the bar.

After a seven-week trial, a jury found Chang guilty of first-degree attempted murder and first-degree assault but acquitted him of tampering with physical evidence. The jury did not reach a decision on the first-degree murder charge, Campion said.

Campion said prosecutors spoke with the victims' families and they were not interested in retrying Chang.

"We allowed him to plead guilty to manslaughter," Campion said.

Superior Court Judge Michael Wolverton sentenced 29-year-old Chang to 11 1/2 years in prison with an additional 11 1/2 years suspended, Campion said. He also placed Chang on probation for three years.

ADVERTISEMENT

Chang was tried alongside Laulu and Chang's cousin, Vang Chang, 32.

Police said Lee Chang gave the murder weapon to Vang Chang for disposal. Vang Chang is accused of pointing a gun at a passer-by while fleeing the scene.

A jury convicted Vang Chang of third-degree assault, misconduct involving a weapon and tampering with evidence. He was sentenced last year to 36 months in jail with 27 months suspended.

Laulu was accused of throwing his gun out of the car at an intersection near Creekside Elementary School.

A jury acquitted Laulu of murder charges last year, agreeing with his lawyer's theory that he shot Ka Meng Chang in self-defense. Laulu was convicted of tampering with evidence and being a felon in possession of a weapon.

Wolverton sentenced him to three years in prison, Campion said.

Tegan Hanlon

Tegan Hanlon was a reporter for the Anchorage Daily News between 2013 and 2019. She now reports for Alaska Public Media.

ADVERTISEMENT