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Murder suspect recharged after missing witness is found

Albert Lucas is accused of killing George Zeon, 19, at a gas station on West Broadway Avenue in May 2021. His case was initially dismissed after a witness vanished.
Credit: KARE 11

MINNEAPOLIS — Albert Lucas avoided trial in April 2023 when the key witness to his alleged murder of George Zion vanished. Prosecutors were forced to ask the judge to dismiss the case without prejudice, meaning charges could be refiled later.

Now, a juvenile petition was refiled after the witness, referred to in court documents as "Known Female A," was arrested and held in the Hennepin County Jail. The Hennepin County Attorney's Office intends to recertify Lucas, now 20, as an adult again.

According to the criminal complaint file in the case, George Zeon was pumping gas at the Amstar gas station on West Broadway Avenue on 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 allegedly drove 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. Court documents said 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.

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