ANTIGO - When police showed up to a car crash near Antigo this week, the driver seemed discombobulated and out of sorts. Sunday night, Pao Vang, 33, told officers he had just flown in from vacation with someone else, even though he was the only one in the car. But it's what officers did find in that car soon after that has Vang in trouble.
Police towed the car from an intersection near the Langlade County Airport (where Vang said he just came from) to a nearby gas station. There, officers noticed bags full of what appeared to be marijuana sticking out of duffel bags in plain sight. They got a search warrant and found 133 pounds of high-grade marijuana.
"I've literally never seen 133 pounds of marijuana in one case in my eight years as a prosecutor," Langlade County District Attorney Elizabeth Constable said. "His ability to post bond, to flee, all of that does definitely make it an issue."
Vang flew into the Antigo airport from Colorado, where pot is legal. Constable says the 119 vacuum-sealed bags of marijuana could sell illegally for about $1.5 million in Wisconsin.
"It's a high-grade marijuana, which means that the street value is much higher than if it's a lower quality," Constable said.
Constable charged Vang with the highest level pot possession felony -- a level he surpassed by six times.
"In grams, that is inexcess of 60,000 grams and I charged Mr. Vang with possession with intent to deliver marijuana, obviously, with intent based on the quantity," Constable said.
Vang faces 15 years in prison, if convicted. He's currently free on $20,000 cash bond.
Newswatch 12's Ben Meyer contributed to this report.
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