Suspect charged in killing of 38-year-old man on Red Lake Reservation

A 36-year-old man has been charged with killing another man on the Red Lake Reservation in northern Minnesota, authorities said.

Ralph E. Cloud Jr., of Red Lake was indicted in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis last week in connection with the Sept. 12 death of Allen James Smith, 38, of Redby. Cloud remains in federal custody before a hearing on Friday.

Cloud was charged on Thursday, on what would have been Smith's 39th birthday.

Smith died of "traumatic head and neck injuries," according to the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office, which handles death investigations for the reservation.

Federal officials have yet to disclose how the two men knew each other or the circumstances of the killing other than to allege that Cloud killed Smith "with malice aforethought," the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement.

Smith was remembered in his online obituary for "his sense of humor and his kind heart, never wanting to hurt anyone."

The obituary went on to say Smith "liked to work on cars and stereo systems, watch NASCAR races, [his] smoke sessions with friends, and play cribbage and dominoes."

https://www.startribune.com/suspect-charged-in-killing-of-38-year-old-man-on-red-lake-reservation/600012420/