Two people have been arrested and charged after what prosecutors say was a drug deal that turned fatal last week in West St. Paul.

The Dakota County attorney's office charged Elizabeth Rios, 26, and Jose Dominguez, 21, both of St. Paul, with second-degree murder and aggravated robbery in connection the stabbing death of Daniel Adam Wallner, 30.

Wallner, of West St. Paul, was found early Nov. 24 on a driveway in the 1100 block of Kruse Street. An autopsy revealed that he died of stab wounds to the chest.

According to charges, Wallner told a friend on Nov. 23 that he was going to sell a large amount of marijuana to two people who he feared planned to rob him. Police later tracked Rios and Dominguez using the GPS coordinates of a phone linked to multiple calls to and from Wallner's cellphone. The two were arrested in Inver Grove Heights on Nov. 27.

Rios told police she and Dominguez met Wallner in a West St. Paul parking lot late on Nov. 23 to buy marijuana. She said Dominguez immediately tried to wrest away a large plastic bag of pot that Wallner presented and that she stabbed Wallner as the two struggled.

After being stabbed, Wallner left the car and the two suspects drove away with the marijuana, according to criminal complaints filed against Rios and Dominguez.

Dominguez

Rios and Dominguez made their first court appearances on the charges Tuesday and remain in jail in lieu of $750,000 bail without conditions, or $500,000 with conditions. Their next court appearances are scheduled for Dec. 22.

Stephen Montemayor • 952-746-3282