Red Lake Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for Murder

MINNEAPOLIS – A Red Lake man has been sentenced to 144 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for a 2020 murder that took place on the Red Lake Indian Reservation, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.

According to court documents, on September 12, 2020, Ralph Edward Cloud, Jr., 38, 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 residence and attacked him, using a metal cabinet and its drawers to beat Smith to death.

Cloud was sentenced today in U.S. District Court before Senior Judge Michael J. Davis. On July 14, 2022, Cloud pleaded guilty to one count of murder in the second degree.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the Red Lake Tribal Police Department and the FBI Headwaters Safe Trails Task Force.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emily A. Polachek and Deidre Y. Aanstad prosecuted the case.