MINNEAPOLIS — Albert Lucas was all set to stand trial in Minneapolis Wednesday on second-degree murder charges for the shooting death of 19-year-old George Zeon.
It didn't happen - charges against the 19-year-old accused killer were dismissed and he was allowed to go home.
Prosecutors say a key witness vanished, forcing the Hennepin County Attorney's Office to ask Judge Juan Hoyos to dismiss the case.
Court records show the witness, referred to in the criminal complaint as "Known Female A," faces her own charge of aiding an offender. She was released without bond following a court hearing Monday and a warrant for her arrest was issued the next day as Lucas' trial was set to begin.
The witness' testimony was integral to the state's case against Lucas. A spokesperson for the Hennepin County Attorneys Office said they hope to re-file charges against Lucas once she is apprehended, and that the manner in which they dismissed the charges allows them to do so.
According to the criminal complaint file in the case, George Zeon was pumping gas at the Amstar gas station on West Broadway Ave. the evening of May 6, 2021, when Lucas allegedly pulled up in another car and shot Zeon.
Police arrested Lucas, who was 17 at the time, based on identification from Known Female A, who was driving the getaway vehicle.
According to the charging documents for her role in the case, Known Female A admitted driving Lucas and another man, Levon Smith, to the gas station and then driving them away following the shooting. She also admitted wiping down any part of the car Lucas and Smith may have touched, at their request.
During a January hearing, the witness admitted under oath that she committed the crime of aiding an offender and helping Lucas. Her guilty plea and sentence of probation was set to be accepted after she testified for the prosecution in the Lucas trial.
Originally petitioned in juvenile court, Lucas was certified and ordered to stand trial in adult court in March 2022. Jail records show he was released from the Hennepin County Jail in February.
Smith was originally charged with assault and threats of violence stemming from the shooting, but those charges were dismissed in April 2022.
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