Two charged in killing of Red WIng man

Suspects being held in Goodhue County Jail

By TIM HARLOW, Star Tribune

Last update: January 23, 2008 - 1:14 PM

Two 19-year-old men have been charged with shooting a Red Wing man to death, according to criminal complaints filed Tuesday in Goodhue County District Court.

The documents accuse William Jamar Lawton and Martin Todd Griffith of killing Joel Rafael Diaz Albelo, 27, early Sunday in an alley behind a bar on the 300 block of W. 7th Street in Red Wing.

Albelo was shot in the chest around 12:30 a.m. while sitting in a vehicle with three other people.

Griffith faces charges of second-degree murder, first-degree assault, first-degree attempted aggravated robbery and second-degree assault. Lawton faces the same charges as an accomplice to the crime, complaints said.

Police said they believe Albelo and his group had arranged to meet Griffith, Lawton and the 16-year-old to buy drugs, and the others were intent on robbing them.

The suspects are being held in the Goodhue County Jail on $1 million bail.

A 16-year-old boy with a Zumbrota, Minn. address was arrested by police and is in custody.

Recent Local + Metro stories

Flying wood kills N. Minn. lumber mill worker - January 23, 2008

Flying wood kills N. Minn. lumber mill worker - A 45-year-old lumber mill worker was killed on the job in northern Minnesota, when he was struck by a piece of wood thrown from a machine, authorities said this morning. More