A Catawba man was given an active prison term of nine to 12 years following his conviction for assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, possession of a firearm by felon and admission of his status as a habitual felon.
Kaw Yang, 43, was given the sentence by the Honorable Louis A. Trosch, Superior Court Judge from Mecklenburg County, after he pleaded guilty to the offenses during Catawba County Superior Court on Monday, May 13, 2024.
The defendant will serve his period of incarceration in custody of the North Carolina Division of Adult Corrections.
Yang’s sentence was lengthened because of his habitual felon status that included prior felony convictions for possession of methamphetamine (September 2020), possession of firearm by felon (May 2019), both in Catawba County, and domestic violence protective order violation (March 2017) in Iredell County.
Yang’s criminal offenses occurred on September 29, 2022, at a residence in Hickory when he and a friend of his engaged in an argument over money owed to the defendant by the victim.
The defendant took a Glock pistol from his waistband and fired a shot at the victim, striking him in the arm before fleeing the scene. Yang was apprehended in Burke County a week later.
Yang previously had been convicted of possession of a firearm by felon in May 2019 in Catawba County.
Tammie Johnson investigated the case for Hickory Police Department. Assistant District Attorney Howard Wellons prosecuted the matter for the State with aid from Legal Assistant Meredith Scott.