Red Lake Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for 2020 Murder

A Red Lake man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for a 2020 murder that took place on the Red Lake Reservation.

According to court documents, on Sept. 12, 2020, 38-year-old Ralph Edward Cloud Jr. killed his cousin, Allen Smith, in Smith’s home. Concerned about a relationship between his wife and Smith, Cloud walked several miles to Smith’s home and attacked him, using a metal cabinet and its drawers to beat Smith to death.

Cloud was sentenced today in U.S. District Court after pleading guilty to one count of murder in the second degree earlier this year.