St. Paul man charged with killing Chicago man

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - A 23-year-old man has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of a man whose body was found in a burning car in St. Paul.

Demetrius Smoot of St. Paul was charged Friday in Ramsey County District Court with killing 36-year-old Jeremy Allen. He's accused of fatally shooting Allen and then burning his vehicle during a drug deal on Nov. 14 because Allen owed him money.

Ramsey County authorities found Allen's body inside a vehicle registered to his girlfriend when they were called to an alley in St. Paul on a report of a suspicious fire.

Smoot was arrested in Allen's death Wednesday. He denied knowing anything about the burning vehicle or the shooting death.

Allen's mother has said he lived in Chicago and was visiting family and friends in the Twin Cities.