Updated: 11/11/2009 8:32 PM KSTP.com | Print |  Email
By: Becky Nahm

Small Washington Co. Town Shaken by Murder

A murder mystery is unfolding in a small Washington County town.

A man was found dead early Tuesday in a pick-up truck on Quinnell Avenue in Lakeland Shores.

The town is home to about 300 people. As far as anyone can remember, there's never been a homicide inside its limits.

Judy Savage said, "I think people are really nervous about it, I do. I think people want to know why."

Authorities described the victim as a hispanic man in his late 30s. They haven't released his name.

They also haven't released his cause of death, but people who live near the crime scene said they heard three gun shots.

Michael McDonald said, "They pulled him out from the back and I could see his face. He got shot in the face. His face was bloody."

Authorities don't think the murder was a random crime.

Washington County Sheriff Bill Hutton said, "The vehicle and the individual in the vehicle are not known to the area. So this is definitely an incident where they chose Lakeland Shores as the ending point of the violence."

Lakeland Shores is located on the St. Croix River south of Interstate 94.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Washington County Sheriff's Office or Crime Stoppers.

Crime Stoppers is offering a reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case.