Arnong Rajvong, Northside Shooting Victim, Had Forgery Arrest, Probation Violation Arrest, And A Theft Conviction...

Stock photo, bar pictured is not in North 
Minneapolis, blog post by John Hoff

Before writing this article, I found it prudent to wait for 100 percent confirmation that Arnong Rajvong, a Northside shooting victim, was one and the same with Arnong Rajvong, convicted thief. Confirmation came in the form of an article published by Channel 5 which featured a contributed photo of Rajvong. 

This photo allowed me to match Rajvong's face with her mug shots and then determine the MNCIS record was almost certainly the same woman.

In fact, if you search "Arnong Rajvong" on Google, two things pop up:

Articles about her death and her mug shots from two arrests.

In 2009, according to MNCIS, Rajvong was convicted of...

...property theft. Her lawyer was Adam Chay Yang. He was retained, not a public pretender. I mean "defender."

Despite the efforts of her attorney, Rajvong was convicted of theft and fined. It appears to me the total fine consisted of $78 but (if I read this correctly) Rajvong had fronted $200. Interestingly, the $200 appears with the notation "credit for time served."

Gotta love that quirky MNCIS system.

The notation "credit waived" also appears.

I've never seen THAT before. Often criminals die owing money. In this case, (and I've ONLY seen it in this case) Rajvong apparently gave the system more than she owed or, possibly, received a refund. It really depends upon who was "waiving" the credit and MNCIS notations aren't always crystal clear.

A mug shot from 2009 shows a younger and thinner Arnong Rajvong. That photo appears on Busted Mug Shots Dot Com, click here. 

There was apparently another arrest in 2012, and details of this one are quite revealing. Though I see no record of the arrest in MNCIS, Busted Mugshots Dot Com is showing Rajvong's photo as well as information on an arrest that happened January 16, 2012, in Minneapolis. Here were the charges at that time, according to Busted Mugshots:

Alleged Violations:

AGGRAVATED FORGERY-LEGAL RIGHTS CREATED/TERMINATED- FE {609.625.1(1)}

IDENTITY THEFT-TRANSFERS/POSSESSES/USES IDENTITY OF OTHER PERSON- FE {609.527.2}

THEFT-TAKE/USE/TRANSFER MOVABLE PROP-NO CONSENT- FE {609.52.2(1)}

DRUGS-5TH DEGREE-POSSESS SCHEDULE 1-2-3-4-NOT SMALL AMOUNT MARIJUANA- FE {152.025.2(A)(1)}

A photo on Mugshots Dot Com, click here, shows a much more recent arrest on June 26 of this year. That was an arrest for a probation violation. THAT is interesting, because I can't find any record in MNCIS showing that Rajvong was on probation. However, the MNCIS system is very quirky and sometimes relatively new charges take a long time to appear. The arrest took place in Anoka County.

An article in the Star Tribune (and good luck reading it without an annoying pop up ad appearing, plus a tendency to revert back to the home page after you try to eliminate the pop up ad) says Rajvong was shot after leaving a bar with "her friends" instead of a man who had picked her up at the bar. The bar is described as "nearby" to 26th and Washington Ave. N.

The article also says Rajvong leaves behind a 7-year-old son.

There is no reasonable excuse for this kind of violence. However, the historical pattern of Northside shootings holds true, and decent people need to know the vast majority of homicide victims continue to be members of a criminal class preying on each other.

The victim in this case was no angel.

As usual.

Feel free to discuss this article at the vigil. Perhaps there could be a discussion about why Rajvong wasn't at home taking care of her 7-year-old son and soberly contemplating the terms of her probation rather than hanging out in a North Minneapolis bar with a strange guy who, it would appear, ultimately killed her.

But don't worry, friends of Rajvong. When this guy is arrested (and I hope he is) I will be doing a number on HIS criminal record, as well.

JNS blog gets the feeling more happened between Rajvong and her murderer than a casual bar pickup that went down in flames. Maybe somebody who knows something should tell the police rather than keeping it to themselves.