Acquittal For St. Paul Man Accused Of Murder

ST. PAUL (AP) - A St. Paul man has been acquitted of murder charges in the death of a man whose body was found in a burning car last fall.

Twenty-three-year-old Demetrius Smoot was found not guilty by a jury in Ramsey County late Thursday. Smoot was accused of fatally shooting 36-year-old Jeremy Allen and then burning his vehicle during a drug deal last November in St. Paul.

Defense attorney Bruce Wenger argued that while Smoot may have arranged a marijuana deal between the victim and another man and helped burn Allen's body, he was not the person who pulled the trigger.

Smoot's family cried with relief after the verdict was read and hugged each other.